Popular Among Distrustful Youth? Social Media Influencers' Communication About COVID-19 and Young People's Risk Perceptions and Vaccination Intentions.

During the COVID-19 crisis, many social media influencers (SMIs) discussed the pandemic on their channels and showcased their behavior in dealing with the virus. Drawing on the two-step flow of communication and social learning theory, we investigated the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of SMIs' COVID-19-related communication in a two-wave panel survey among emerging adults aged 16-21 years (NT1 = 978, NT2 = 415). Our results contribute to the health communication literature by discovering that institutional mistrust determines whether young people resort to SMIs as an information source for COVID-19-related information. Those with higher mistrust in established media organizations and the government were more likely to consult SMIs for COVID-19-related information and to consider them as role models when exposed to relevant content. Moreover, consulting SMIs who promote noncompliance as a COVID-19 information source was over time related to lower vaccination intentions.

Does Digital Detox Work? Exploring the Role of Digital Detox Applications for Problematic Smartphone Use and Well-Being of Young Adults Using Multigroup Analysis.

The constant availability of social networking sites (SNSs) on smartphones has an enormous distracting potential and may lead to problematic usage behavior, especially among younger age groups. In this context, an emerging trend of using so-called digital detox applications (apps; e.g., iOS Screen Time) can be witnessed, which allows users to monitor and limit their smartphone use as well as to consciously disconnect for a certain period of time. However, it remains unclear whether digital detox apps can indeed reduce negative consequences of using SNSs such as problematic smartphone use (PSU) and decreased well-being. Drawing from self-regulation theory, we investigated the relationships between using SNSs, PSU, and well-being among a sample of 500 young adults between 18 and 35 years of age. We used multigroup analysis to compare digital detox app users and nonusers. Results revealed that a high proportion of young adults use digital detox apps (41.7 percent). Among those who did not use such apps, using SNSs was positively associated with PSU, which was negatively related to well-being. Among digital detox app users, we found no such relationship. Thus, digital detox apps seem to be a valuable tool to prevent harmful effects of using SNSs on well-being among young people by reducing the risk of using the smartphone compulsively.

Longitudinal Effects of Excessive Smartphone Use on Stress and Loneliness: The Moderating Role of Self-Disclosure.

The present study investigates how excessive smartphone use predicts users' stress and loneliness while taking the moderating role of online self-disclosure into account. We conducted a two-wave panel survey with a quota sample of smartphone users (n = 461 at time 2 [T2]). We found no direct effects of excessive smartphone use on stress or loneliness. However, our results showed that online self-disclosure moderates the postulated relationships. That is, excessive smartphone use (time 1 [T1]) predicts increased stress (T2), for those smartphone users who do engage in little online self-disclosure. However, for those who communicate their feelings, anxieties, and problems online, excessive smartphone use (T1) can even reduce loneliness (T2) and relieve stress (T2).

Start Spreading the News: A Comparative Experiment on the Effects of Populist Communication on Political Engagement in Sixteen European Countries.

Although populist communication has become pervasive throughout Europe, many important questions on its political consequences remain unanswered. First, previous research has neglected the differential effects of populist communication on the Left and Right. Second, internationally comparative studies are missing. Finally, previous research mostly studied attitudinal outcomes, neglecting behavioral effects. To address these key issues, this paper draws on a unique, extensive, and comparative experiment in sixteen European countries (N = 15,412) to test the effects of populist communication on political engagement. The findings show that anti-elitist populism has the strongest mobilizing effects, and anti-immigrant messages have the strongest demobilizing effects. Moreover, national conditions such as the level of unemployment and the electoral success of the populist Left and Right condition the impact of populist communication. These findings provide important insights into the persuasiveness of populist messages spread throughout the European continent.