“When there's an absence of consistent messaging from authorities, many rumors and conspiracy theories can fill the void, and that makes it very difficult for people to figure out what it is that they should do,” says Roxane Cohen Silver, a UC Irvine professor of psychological science in National Geographic.
Her lab has shown how relentless news cycles that focus too heavily on the negatives, such as those around the 2014 Ebola crisis or mass shootings, can collectively traumatize the public and even elicit symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Though more research is needed, such signs are emerging with COVID-19, including with “doomscrolling,” the binging of worrisome media posts. Cohen Silver’s team warned in May that both the media and health experts have a role to play in delivering practical advice about the pandemic’s risks without amplifying hysteria and confusion.
“I would encourage people to monitor the amount of time that they're engaged with the media to make sure that they're checking trustworthy authoritative sources,” Cohen Silver says.