Volunteering for the greater good reduces individuals' dependency on news consumption during crises, improves quality of life and resilience

Social media is a major source of news consumption. During periods of crisis, its use can lead to information overload and may result in higher levels of stress. We explore here the effect of various forms of news consumption during war. In particular, we examine how news consumption habits and the choices of social media-based vs mass-media-based news mediums affect individuals’ quality of life and resilience. Our sample consists of over 320 Israeli respondents, who reported their news consumption habits during the early months of the October 7 War. During this crisis, news consumption became a day-long obsession for many Israelis. Thus, it is questionable whether such obsessive behavior is harmful or whether it serves as a supportive coping mechanism. In addition to reporting news consumption habits, participants completed quality of life, resilience, and community volunteering activities assessments through questionnaires. These enabled us to capture a wider perspective of social behaviors during war. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), we reveal that higher levels of news consumption via social media are associated with a higher level of individual quality of life and a higher level of resilience. When controlling for age and gender, volunteering activities for the greater good were found to moderate this effect. Individuals who volunteered during the war were less dependent on media consumption to maintain high resilience levels. We explain this moderating effect by framing volunteering as an alternative psychological anchor, increasing the feeling of control, thus promoting individual well-being and reducing dependency on news consumption. While extensive use of social media might result in information overload and stress during normal days, during crises, such as war, social media serves as an anchor, supporting individuals’ resilience and increasing quality of life, while volunteering serves as an alternative—possibly healthier—anchor.