Media Usage Patterns during Corona Lock Down - Empirical Findings and Implications for Political Communication

Successful communication of political decisions during crises is dependent on the knowledge of administrations about the media use of citizens. During the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak in March and April, governments used different media channels to distribute information on the pandemic as well as new rules. Recent quantitative studies suggest an increase use of media, particularly of television. In the case of Germany, more than 10 million people are watching the main news show in public television regularly (NDR, 2020). In Austria, more than 2 million citizens saw the president’s speech on March 13th 2020 (ORF, 2020). However, it is unclear which motives are driving increased media usage. The proposal presents recent findings on media usage motives based on the uses-and-gratifications theory (Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch, 1973). Particularly the media use of younger recipients under the age of 39 was investigated. The authors developed a quantitative questionnaire which was distributed online, in particular to students and younger adults in Southern Bavaria and Austria. Although it is not a representative sample, the study shows interesting complementary findings to large-scale media usage analyses. Over all ages, increased television use was explained by the need of information during the crisis (75% of the respondents) whereas entertainment played no major role in the use of television channels (19%). Streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime were primarily used for entertainment (89%), followed by books and e-books (75%). Social media platforms were increasingly used as information channels during the peak of Covid-19 (65%) and played a crucial role in the social networking of younger persons. Especially in times of crisis, increased media use offers opportunities for political actors. Especially younger publics can be reached in a targeted manner. Looking at the results, political actors like local and national governments should look at the motives of media use before communicating through these channels. Our findings suggest to focus on social media as well as on television to inform younger recipients reliably. The results also show that, during the peak of Covid-19, members of Generation Z and the Millennials spent more time on using media to search reliable information in the crisis. An interesting fact is that especially in times of crisis younger audiences prefer to use linear television to inform themselves. This means that politicians can still reach this predominantly online public via this classic media channel. The findings of this study could give fruitful foundations for communication plans of political actors. The study also expands classical quantitative media reception studies with new findings on media usage patterns during the crisis.