Escaping the Pandemic Present: The Relationship Between Nostalgic Media Use, Escapism, and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Research has shown that entertainment media can make people experience nostalgia, a mixed emotion triggered by fond memories, which can function as a resource for well-being in times of strain. Accordingly, people may be especially motivated to consume nostalgia-inducing media in times of crisis. One such crisis that has strongly affected the personal lives of most people around the world is the global COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, we investigate the role of nostalgic media use during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate whether nostalgic media use has increased during the early 2020 lockdown, what kinds of media people used to become nostalgic, and how nostalgic media use is associated with well-being and escapism. In a cross-sectional panel survey conducted during lockdown measures in Germany in April and May 2020, participants (N = 534) were asked about their current stress, fear of isolation, nostalgic media usage, and functional as well as dysfunctional escapism. Controlling for nostalgia proneness, our findings indicate that nostalgic media usage was positively associated with fear of isolation and that it was related to both functional and dysfunctional escapism. Respondents in our survey most commonly used music, movies, and series and also (audio-)books, videogames, and private photos and videos to become nostalgic. Overall, our findings indicate that media-induced nostalgia may function as a resource to cope with social stress (fear of isolation) for some people during the lockdown measures and that this coping strategy may have both functional as well as dysfunctional components. Public Policy Relevance Statement This research offers evidence that fear of isolation that many people experienced during the lockdown measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic is positively related to the consumption of media that elicits nostalgia. Moreover, nostalgia was positively related to both functional and dysfunctional escapism. These findings indicate that people may use nostalgia-inducing media as a coping mechanism to deal with fears related to social isolation during times of social distances.