Silu Kumari Patro, Vibha Viswanath, Varsha Naveen and Dharshini Ganesan
Indian Institute of Psychology and Research, Bengaluru
The SARS CoV-2 virus invasion has been accompanied by constant informational influx
onto media channels. The goal of the study was to examine the “infodemic” spurred
on by the COVID-19 pandemic and determine how it affected people’s intolerance of
uncertainty. It was proposed that there is a significant difference in people’s intolerance
for uncertainty depending on the kind of media they consume. It was also hypothesised
that spending greater time-consuming news would increase intolerance of uncertainty.
On the basis of news consumption, it was also suggested that there would be a
significant difference in intolerance of uncertainty between men and women. A total of
307 individuals, both male and female, between the ages of 16 and 62, provided data.
The participants’ media intake was evaluated using the NSE media consumption test.
Levels of intolerance of uncertainty were assessed based on consumption of the three
media-Television, the Internet and Newspaper and the IUS-12 was used for the same.
For the participant group, the mean and standard deviation were computed, and the
scores were analysed using the independent sample T-test and ANOVA. The findings
showed that between March 2021 and June 2021 of the pandemic, those who consumed
news via TV had significantly more intolerance of uncertainty than those who consumed
non-news. Intolerance of uncertainty increased significantly the more time they spent
watching news on the TV. Female participants experienced higher levels of intolerance
of uncertainty than males while consuming news through all three media.