Volume 26, Issue 130, December 2022

Accelerated media and mental health: A descriptive study among Saudi general population

Elaf Saleh Heji¹, Anas Atiyah Alzahrani¹, Ibrahim Ali Alasmari¹, Shatha Hassan Aljefri², Hiyam Mohammad Saddiq Qanadily¹, Hanoof Alkhalaf³, Deemah A Alateeq^4♦

¹Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
²Faculty of Medicine, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
³Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Security Forces Hospital, Ministry of Interior, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
⁴Clinical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Clinical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Media acceleration behavior has been increasing recently. According to cognitive behavioral theory, acceleration behavior could affect a person's feelings, which may affect his/her mental health. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of accelerated media behavior and its correlation with depression and anxiety among the general Saudi population. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1091 media users in Saudi Arabia. An online survey included socio-demographic characteristics, accelerated media characteristics, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). The mean participant age was 27.76 ± 7.95 years, 68.5% were females, 92.9% were of Saudi nationality and 22.4% were from the Southern region of Saudi Arabia. Most participants accelerated both video and audio formats (68%) within the last two years (72.1%) and 42.2% accelerated their use at 1.5 speed. Significant predictors of media acceleration included female, Saudi nationality, desire to accelerate life, previous history of depression and/or anxiety (p = = 0.05). Current symptoms of severe depression and severe anxiety were associated with media acceleration. Media acceleration is a prominent behavior among technology users. Routine checkups of mental status should be recommended for excessive media users. Further studies in this area using different study samples and methodologies would be valuable.

Keywords: Media acceleration, depression, anxiety, mental health

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms560e2570

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i130/ms560e2570

Published: 26 December 2022