The COVID-19 pandemic may have reached a turning point as the World Health Organization and the global community of nations step up plans for mass vaccination campaigns. However, the COVID-19 vaccine-related conspiracy theories (e.g., falsehoods about birth control, women infertility, surveillance, and microchip humanity, etc.) have built new momentum for vaccine hesitancy. To this end, several nations worldwide, including Pakistan, are struggling to boost public trust and enthusiasm to get vaccinated, especially in an anxious and complicated atmosphere propelled by multiple, new and the deadliest variants of COVID-19. To address this critical research gap during these intensifying conditions of vaccine hesitancy, the present study makes the first attempt to explore the potential effects of various communication strategies, including public service message (safety benefits versus fear appraisals), media types (i.e., traditional versus digital), self-efficacy, perceived benefits and threats (susceptibility and severity), on the willingness to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Importantly, the underlying effects of public skepticism (in a moderating role) on these relationships were empirically examined. Using four fictitious COVID-19 immunization campaigns in a series of experiments with 2 (media type: traditional vs. digital) X 2 (service attribute: health and safety benefits vs. fear) message frames (represented as Group one to Group four), the findings identified fear appraisal as the most viable communication strategy in combating vaccine hesitancy. Moreover, public skepticism negatively moderated the effects of media types and public service message attributes on willingness to get vaccinated in relatively high (i.e., Group two), moderate (i.e., Group one and four), and low intensities (i.e., Group three). The pioneering findings of this research offer new strategic insights for the global health authorities and vaccine promoters to proactively address the downward spiral of people’s willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Background and Purpose: Watching multiple episodes using streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Youku, has become widespread in recent years. While much attention has been paid to binge-watching, there is, however, a dearth of research on binge-watching and its adverse psychological effects during the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of our knowledge, less attention has been paid to understanding the multiple influences of binge-watching on binge-watchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the past studies on this topic mainly underscored the individual’s motivations for binge-watching. Also, past studies were limited and inconclusive as they mostly espoused only the underpinning adverse effects of binge-watching without looking into the association between binge-watching and screen time for web series through online streaming services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study sought to fill this gap by probing the association between binge-watching and psychological aftereffects. Participants and Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional research design vis-à-vis the survey method. A sample of 1089 adult respondents was collected through an online administrated questionnaire. Results: The findings of this study demonstrated that extensive binge-watching is an antecedent of stress, loneliness, insomnia, depression and anxiety. Furthermore, it was found that screen time on binge-watching could intensify these adverse effects of binge-watching. Interestingly, the moderating effect of screen time on binge-watching was found to be insignificant for stress and loneliness. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that binge-watching correlates with psychological and mental health symptoms including stress, loneliness, insomnia, depression and anxiety. Hence, this study suggests that consumption of web series through online streaming services related literacy interventions are imperative to help the audience become critical about online streaming content and its comparison to the real social world.

Renewed COVID-19 outbreaks, stemming from the highly infectious Delta and Omicron variants, prompted rising fears of a ‘pandemic among the unvaccinated’. To address this prevalent vaccination crisis, media framing communication strategies can amplify the scientific evidence on COVID-19 vaccines to reach diverse geographic and socio-economic communities. The critical role of media framing strategies to engage and encourage large populations regarding vaccine acceptance has been rarely studied, despite growing evidence on vaccine hesitancy. The present study used a multi-method approach (i.e., content analysis and quasi-experiments) that unpacked the framing practices employed by the mainstream media in Pakistan. The findings of the content analysis revealed that the media extensively used uncertainty, conflict, consequences, and action rather than new evidence and reassurance frames in its COVID-19 related campaigns. In a series of quasi-experiments involving 720 participants, we manipulated these six frames of COVID-19 related news coverage (i.e., uncertainty, conflict, consequences, action, new evidence, and reassurance) to investigate the underlying mechanism that influences vaccine acceptance. The findings established that the message-consistent effects of media frames manifesting fear (e.g., consequence and uncertainty) and action cues made receivers more supportive of vaccination. The present study findings theoretically address the calls for a more inclusive “community-health reporting model”, besides offering new evidence on the media framing strategies to deliver more targeted, meaningful, and effective campaigns to raise public acceptance for COVID-19 vaccines.

There is a prevalent notion regarding divergence in the extent of ethnocentrism and the intercultural willingness to communicate across cultures. Given this cultural divergence, research is replete with comparative studies of ethnocentrism and the intercultural willingness to communicate between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. However, to our knowledge, a comparison of these crucial cultural tendencies within and their consequences for collectivistic cultures has been overlooked. Thus, this study provides a cross-cultural comparison of ethnocentrism and the intercultural willingness to communicate among university students from two collectivist cultures, i.e., Pakistan and China. The researchers employed a cross-sectional design. A sample of 775 students was collected using a survey technique. The findings show that Pakistani students are more ethnocentric and have a lower intercultural willingness to communicate than Chinese students. Moreover, males were found to be more ethnocentric and less willing to communicate in intercultural settings than females in both countries. These findings validate the notion of ethnocentrism divergence across collectivistic countries and its influence on the intercultural willingness to communicate. Additionally, they demonstrate the role of demographic attributes in evolving ethnocentrism and the intercultural willingness to communicate. Accordingly, these findings also confirm the ecological assumption that contextual factors, such as demographic attributes (e.g., past interactions with foreigners), influence communication schemas. Therefore, concerning its management, these findings suggest that increased people-to-people interactions between the two focal countries can better foster their mutual understanding to reap an increased harvest of the fruits of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Guarding against an anti-science camouflage within infodemics is paramount for sustaining the global vaccination drive. Vaccine hesitancy remains a growing concern and a significant threat to public health, especially in developing countries. Infodemics, conspiracy beliefs and religious fatalism primarily fuel vaccine hesitancy. In addition, anti-vaccine disinformation, lack of understanding, and erroneous religious beliefs also trigger vaccine hesitancy. Global behavioral strategies such as wearing face masks and long-term preventive measures (i.e., COVID-19 vaccination) have effectively limited the virus's spread. Despite the alarming rate of global deaths (i.e., over 99% being unvaccinated), a large proportion of the global population remains reluctant to vaccinate. New evidence validates the usefulness of technology-driven communication strategies (i.e., digital interventions) to address the complex socio-psychological influence of the pandemic. Hence, the present research explored the digital information processing model to assess the interface between informational support (through digital interventions) and antecedents of vaccine hesitancy. This research involved two separate studies: a focus group to operationalize the construct of infodemics, which remained ambiguous in previous literature (Study 1), followed by a cross-sectional survey (Study 2) to examine the conceptual model. Data were collected from 1906 respondents through a standard questionnaire administered online. The focus group's findings revealed a multi-dimensional nature of infodemics that was also validated in Study 2. The cross-sectional survey results substantiated infodemics, religious fatalism and conspiracy beliefs as significant predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Similarly, conspiracy beliefs negatively influence an individual's psychological well-being. Furthermore, information support (through digital intervention) affected infodemics and religious fatalism, whereas it inversely influenced the strength of their relationships with vaccine hesitancy. Information support (through digital intervention) also moderated the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and psychological well-being.

Climate change and farming malpractices (e.g., harmful pesticides use) are harmful to the globe's productive soil and biodiversity, thereby posing a hazard to the survival of future generations. Innovative technologies provide continuous smart conservation solutions, such as regenerative farming, to confront the ongoing climate crisis and maintain biodiversity. Albeit, regenerative farming has the potential to conserve climate change by upgrading the soil's organic materials and reinstating biodiversity leading to carbon attenuation. However, a critical problem remains concerning adapting conservation farming practices that can assist low-income farmers. In this scenario, theoretical-driven communication campaigns are critical for addressing individuals' resistance to innovation. Thereby, this research uncovers the moderating influence of the numerous communication tools in determining the adoption of regenerative farming through diminishing farmers' resistance to innovation. The study employed a cross-sectional design vis-à-vis a survey method. A sample of 863 farmers participated by responding to the self-administrated questionnaire. In line with prior theories, the study's results identified that communication campaigns such as public service advertisements and informative scientific documentaries could reduce the resistance to innovation that increases the attitude toward the adoption of regenerative farming with varied intensity. Besides, informational support also remained a significant contributor in determining the intention to adopt regenerative farming. This specifies that implanting habits of conservation farming requires the initiation of communication campaigns using different media content. These results may be advantageous for policymakers to influence farmers' intentions to adopt regenerative farming.