The Correlation Between Media Consumption and Loneliness:

The Case of Young People in Portugal

Catarina Feio

, Lídia Oliveira

and José Manuel Martins

Department of Communication and Arts, University of Aveiro, Portugal

Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences, University of Aveiro, Portugal

Keywords: Media Consumption, Loneliness, Young People, Social Media, Online Games, Streaming.

Abstract: Currently, digital media allows individuals to be constantly connected, however, physical interpersonal

relationships and interactions that are not mediated by digital platforms are increasingly rare. This generates

worrisome levels of loneliness and social alienation, especially in young people who have grown up in a

digital world. To understand whether there is a relationship between media consumption and loneliness

amongst young people in Portugal, this study statistically relates these two variables. The investigation used

a sample of 337 participants and the data was collected through a survey built in two parts, one with the UCLA

Loneliness Scale and another with media consumption habits.

The investigation outcomes show that young people mostly carry out their media consumption in the new

media and that it is on social media that they spend more time daily. It also allows us to conclude that young

people who spend more time daily streaming and gaming online have a higher rate of loneliness. Positive

and negative relationships are also identified between the rate of loneliness of young people and the habits

they tend to practice when they feel lonely or bored.

1 INTRODUCTION

Media consumption and access to social networks are

recurrently present in the routine of individuals. The

reception of information can happen on any platform:

television, radio, on the Internet, on social networks.

Nowadays it is increasingly difficult to be

disconnected, turning to media consumption to keep

up with the news, for leisure time watching series,

movies or through games, as well as to stay connected

with each other. However, this constant connection

does not mean that we are closer to our peers, on the

contrary, constant connection can lead to social

alienation and worrisome levels of loneliness. This

problem is even more relevant amongst the young

population, which grew up in the digital world.

Loneliness has been a growing problem and

isolation, a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic,

has been an accelerator of the effects that have been

felt. As Hertz (2021) explains in her book “The

Lonely Century”, before the Covid-19 confinement

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1345-7993

there were already alternatives to human interaction

(such as food delivery services, online exercise

classes, recommendations generated by algorithms)

and the pandemic has significantly accelerated this

trend.

This study is part of a larger investigation that

addresses the issues of media consumption,

loneliness, and political participation. This article will

focus on the relation between media consumption and

loneliness, in the case of young people living in

Portugal.

Youth is considered the formative years of the

individual (Aroldi, 2011), the phase between

childhood and adulthood. This construction of the

individual is influenced not only by the family, but

also by teachers, society and by the Internet which is

an important foundation in the construction of young

people since the beginning of the 21st century (Helve

& Bynner, 2007). And as young people are less

frequent users of traditional media and turn to new

media to carry out their media consumption, it is

Feio, C., Oliveira, L. and Martins, J.

The Correlation Between Media Consumption and Loneliness: The Case of Young People in Portugal.

DOI: 10.5220/0011970000003485

In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Complexity, Future Information Systems and Risk (COMPLEXIS 2023), pages 77-84

ISBN: 978-989-758-644-6; ISSN: 2184-5034

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

important to understand how the Internet and social

media are present in the lives and construction of the

youth (Melro, 2018).

New media is more attractive to young people as

it allows, on one hand, greater flexibility on the part

of the consumer to select and choose the content they

consume, when they consume it and where they

consume it (as for example in the case of streaming

platforms) (Rajendran & Thesinghraja, 2014), as it

also allows the consumer to be a producer and to be

closer to their peers (as in the case of social media).

Thus, social media satisfies the individual's needs for

self-connection and social connection (Kim et al.,

2022). And social media has a central role as a way

of socializing with friends and family, in romantic

relationships, in job hunting and networking, as well

as in the way businesses are managed, the interaction

with companies and brands (Aichner et al., 2021).

However, if the Internet and social media have

advantages for their users, they also have

disadvantages, and it is necessary to highlight the

disadvantages for the young population. Constant

access to the Internet on various devices used for

working and studying, increases problems of

concentration and focus, especially for the youngest,

since the constant ease of access, notifications and all

the mechanisms of social media and various

applications aimed at capturing the attention of

individuals with a sense of novelty and urgency,

makes it difficult to be present and complete a task

without interruptions (Baumgartner & Sumter, 2017).

It is also noteworthy that studies indicate that there is

a relationship between the duration of Internet use

and other addictive behaviours such as alcoholism,

tobacco, and drug use, which may manifest in

adolescence. That is why it is so important to apply

measures and dialogue to prevent these consequences

(Secades-Villa et al., 2015). Covid-19, and its

repercussions, was a cause of increased compulsive

internet use, especially among young people.

Psychological stress, Fear of missing out (FoMO) and

propensity to boredom are phenomena related to

internet addiction (Liang et al., 2022).

Regarding the consumption of information, young

people do not use traditional media for their news

consumption. While adults and the elderly have stable

habits of information consumption, young people, in

addition to resorting to new media with great

adherence, are also more willing to make cross-media

consumption (Torres et al., 2017). Although social

networks are the main means of consuming

information by young people, they also consider it

less reliable, especially compared to traditional media

such as newspapers and radio. Consequently, it is

possible to verify a paradox in the consumption of

information by young people, because, although they

consider social media an unreliable source for the

consumption of information, it is on these platforms

that they do so and do not resort to strategies to verify

the veracity of the content (Pérez-Escoda et al., 2021),

which leaves young people more vulnerable to the

consumption of disinformation and fake news.

Having this in consideration, the correlation

between media consumption and loneliness is a topic

that has been studied in sociology and psychology.

The perspective of youth in this correlation of themes

has been the subject of investigation since media

consumption, in particular that excessive use of the

Internet can lead to dependence. Young people and

adolescents are more susceptible to use the Internet

(social media, online games, etc.) and to acquire

compulsive behaviours, and this age group is more

exposed to the negative effects of this consumption

(Savolainen et al., 2020). Some negative effects of

constant connection and social media are that they

open the door to new forms of social exclusion,

intimidation, and harassment (Hertz, 2021).

It is worth mentioning that the young people’s

experience with social media affects their well-being

positively or negatively, thus concluding that there is

a link between well-being and the use of social media

(Seabrook et al., 2016), and, since the beginning of

adolescence, the use of social networks is related to

the satisfaction of life of young people (Iacus &

Porro, 2022). A positive relationship between young

people and social media can benefit their social

capital, self-esteem, social support, and psychological

well-being, while a bad relationship with social media

has negative implications on the psychological well-

being of individuals (Erfani & Abedin, 2018). Bad

social experiences online result in young people

feeling lonelier, alienated from their peers, and these

factors contribute to a deterioration of both the mental

and physical health of the young population,

consequently making them more vulnerable to

compulsive behaviours (such as compulsive Internet

use) and self-destructive behaviours (Savolainen et

al., 2020). In addition, young people who are in a

growing up and developing phase, are exposed to

selected and edited images of influencers and their

peers who appear to have a perfect and successful life.

This type of pressure and the need to demonstrate

only the positive aspect of their lives, at a time of such

transformation and transitions, is a negative

contribution to the well-being of young people,

especially considering the constant comparison with

their peers about the transition to new phases of adult

COMPLEXIS 2023 - 8th International Conference on Complexity, Future Information Systems and Risk

life, also contributing to them feeling like they are

falling behind (Brunborg & Andreas, 2019).

However, other studies also point out that the

relationship between media consumption (online) and

loneliness can be perceived from both perspectives.

Either excessive media consumption can result in an

increase in the level of loneliness, leading to the

individual feeling anxious, depressed and alienated

from personal and family contexts, or, from another

perspective, the increase in media consumption can

be a consequence of the feeling of solitude of the

individual who seeks close relationships with others

in this environment (Mozafar Saadati et al., 2021).

As it is possible that this relationship between

media consumption and loneliness can become

something cyclical, the lonelier the young person

feels, the more they consume, the less they seek to

connect with their peers outside the online sphere, the

less face-to-face communication skills they explore,

the lonelier they feel.

This article is structured as follows: after the

theoretical framework presented in this introduction

the methodology chapter that follows, which explains

the methodological approach, the research question,

the objectives and the population and sample of this

study. This is followed by the Results and Discussion,

which begins with an overview of the relationship

between the various media consumption mediums

related to each other and the UCLA loneliness scale,

and continues with the analysis of the consumption of

social media, streaming and online games and the

analysis of the habits that young people have when

they feel lonely or bored and the loneliness scale.

2 METHODOLOGY

This research applies a quantitative approach that

seeks to validate the hypotheses using statistics and

concrete data (Mattar, 2015), through the relationship

between variables, to understand the interdependence

of the phenomena under study. So that it can

constitute an original contribution to the problem.

The quantitative approach resorted to the use of a

survey answered by a sample of the youth population

living in Portugal (N=337), with the objective of

acquiring the necessary data to carry out the statistical

relationships between the variables under study.

It is emphasized that this study is part of a broader

investigation that addresses the issues of media

consumption, loneliness, and political participation.

This article focuses on the relationship between

media consumption and loneliness, in the case of

young people living in Portugal.

2.1 Question and Research Objectives

This investigation has the following research

question: Is there a relationship between media

consumption and levels of loneliness in young people

in Portugal?

Research objectives:

• Understand whether there is a relationship

between young people's media consumption

habits and their loneliness scale;

• Assess whether the time spent daily on social

media is related to the loneliness scale among

young people;

• Analyse whether the time devoted to media

consumption on entertainment content

platforms is related to the loneliness scale of

young people;

• Analyse whether the habits and activities that

young people use most often when they feel

lonely and bored are related to their loneliness

scale.

2.2 Data Collection Instrument

(Survey)

The study uses a survey as a data collection

instrument utilized for the statistical analysis of this

investigation. This questionnaire survey involved a

first phase of creating an Analysis Model in which the

variables and indicators of the concepts media

consumption and loneliness are identified. Therefore,

the Analysis Model was the primary element that

served as the basis for the structuring of this

investigation, both for the theoretical framework

chapter and for the data collection element, with the

analysis performed in the Analysis Model being the

conceptual basis that supports the development of the

data collection instrument.

The process of elaborating the survey was carried

out in various stages: initially, the questionnaire

objectives were specified, which intended to collect

sociodemographic data and data relating to media

consumption and loneliness scale of respondents.

Data collection and questions related to media

consumption aim to understand the type of media

consumption that respondents carry out as well as the

time allocated to this consumption on an ordinal

scale, emphasizing the need to understand the habits

related to the consumption of information, the quest

for being up to date with the news and the degree of

trust in the different media platforms.

Regarding the theme of loneliness, during the first

phase of this research it was established that an

existing loneliness scale indicator would be used,

The Correlation Between Media Consumption and Loneliness: The Case of Young People in Portugal

choosing for this purpose the UCLA Loneliness Scale

(Pontinen & Swails, 2017) which, through twenty

questions, assigns a rating to the respondent's degree

of loneliness. The scale was translated from English

to Portuguese, as a reference for translation, the

article: “Psychometric Validation of the UCLA-

Loneliness Scale for Portuguese Elderly People”

(Pocinho et al., 2010) was adapted to the population

of this study.

After building the data collection element, it was

implemented in an online platform for this purpose.

Before the questionnaire became available, a usability

test was carried out with three participants who

answered the questionnaire and were later

interviewed to make known errors and doubts that

occurred during the response to the survey. The

appropriate corrections were made considering these

interviews. The questionnaire was available for

responses between the 6th and 29th of April 2022 and

was disseminated through an online campaign.

2.3 Population and Sample

For this research, the population is made up of young

people living in Portugal aged between 18 and 30,

that is, it focuses on emerging young people as they

are the generation with the greatest impact on social

dynamics, in terms of social decision-making and

policy, with future implications. This population is

characterized by having approximately one million

three hundred thousand individuals (according to

Portada - PORDATA, (last access on 20.06.2022),

“Resident population, annual average: total and by

age group”).

For this study, a non-probabilistic sample was

used, using a snowball sampling strategy. This

sampling technique was selected since this is the most

viable technique, given that it is not possible to have

equal access to all young people living in Portugal to

obtain a simple probabilistic sample. Snowball

sampling uses reference chains, so, through a specific

selection of individuals who match the criterion, it is

possible to continue to disseminate the survey by

individuals who correspond to the same requirements

(Vinuto, 2014). The sample was built through the

dissemination of the data collection element among

young people who corresponded to the defined

criteria and who consequently shared the survey with

their circle of relationships that also corresponded to

the criteria of this investigation.

The sample of this investigation has the answers

of 337 young people living in Portugal aged between

18 and 30.

2.4 Treatment of Data

The data was analysed using SPSS - Statistical

Analysis Software 27. The data obtained through the

online questionnaire was exported to Excel, here the

data was processed and then they were transferred to

SPSS 27 for statistical analysis.

The statistical tests used to carry out the analysis

that aims to determine whether there is a relationship

between the concepts were: linear regression tests,

ANOVA means comparison tests, Mann-Whitney,

Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman Correlations and

Principal Components Analysis.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Media Consumption and

Loneliness

We first conduct a non-parametric correlation test to

examine whether there were significant relationships

between the individuals' loneliness scale and their

daily media consumption habits (the variables

analysed were: daily time watching television, daily

time streaming, daily time gaming, daily time

listening to the radio, daily time reading newspapers

and magazines and daily time on social media), and

also among the different types of media consumption.

In a first analysis of how young people's media

consumption habits relate to each other it is possible

to find that there are positive relationships between

the time spent consuming traditional media. We

found that there is a significant positive relationship

between the daily time spent watching television and

listening to the radio r(335) = .281, p = <.001,

between the daily time spent watching television and

reading newspapers and magazines r(335) = .171, p

= .002, and between the daily time spent reading

newspapers and magazines and listening to the radio

r(335) = .170, p = .002.

A significant positive relationship is also found

between media consumption habits in new media.

We found a significant positive relationship between

the time spent daily streaming and gaming r(335) =

.153, p = .005 ,and between the time spent daily

streaming and on social media r(335) = .127, p =

.020.

This means that young people who tend to spend

time in one of the traditional media platforms tend to

also consume other traditional media channels more

frequently. The same happens in media consumption

in new media, young people who spend more time

COMPLEXIS 2023 - 8th International Conference on Complexity, Future Information Systems and Risk

daily on social media also tend to spend more time

daily streaming and playing online and vice versa.

There is a multifaceted pattern of media

consumption that converges on itself, meaning more

hours on social media, more hours on online gaming,

and more hours streaming, and these consumptions

correlate with higher loneliness levels. Loneliness

goes hand in hand with psychological disorders and

(lack of) mental health. These results highlight that

there is a tsunami quietly brewing. The respondents

in this study are young people who are in the

developmental stage called emerging adulthood (18-

30) (Arnett, 2004), which is characterized by opening

horizons, experimentation, and freedom. If these

young people are trapped in the labyrinth of social

media, streaming, and online gaming wrapped in a

sense of loneliness that is attempted to be minimized

by online media consumption, then their development

as emerging adults is in jeopardy, as is their

subjective well-being and psychological well-being.

A negative significant relationship between the

daily time spent on social networks and reading

magazines and newspapers is also noteworthy r(335) =

-.123, p = .024. This data highlights that young people

who spend more time daily on social media tend to

spend less time of their day reading newspapers and

magazines. This is a relevant result, since young people

who limit their consumption of current affairs on social

media are more susceptible to receiving propaganda

and political extremist content (Castelli Gattinara &

Pirro, 2018). As it was possible to verify in the

elections of 2016 in the United States and 2018 in

Brazil, social media were a vehicle for the transmission

of misinformation and fake news (Ituassu & Lifschitz,

2019). With the shift in consumption from traditional

channels of information consumption to new media

and social media, researchers and society in general

should ask themselves what tools we need to equip

young people to safely navigate social media and

search for and consume reliable information and news.

Regarding the relationship between media

consumption habits and the loneliness scale of young

people it is possible to highlight two significant

positive relationships. There is a significant positive

relationship between the time spent daily streaming

and the loneliness scale r(335) = .137, p = .012, as

well as between the time spent daily gaming online

and the loneliness scale r(335) = .178, p = <.001.

3.2 Relationship Between Loneliness

and Time Spent on Social Media

Media consumption on social media is part of the

daily routine for 99.4% of the survey respondents,

this being the most recurrent daily consumption in the

sample of this study. Considering this it is necessary

to study this type of consumption and the levels of

loneliness of the respondents further statistically.

Since social networks not only take time away from

face-to-face interpersonal interactions but are also a

fertile environment for hostilities and comparisons

(Hertz, 2021).

"It is this state of permanent connectedness that

makes our use of the telephone and social media like

nothing else in the history of human beings and that

is contributing in ways that are quite profound to the

very unique nature of the loneliness crisis of the

century we live in." (Hertz, 2021, p. 117)

Through the non-parametric correlations teste it

was not possible to detect a significant relationship

between the loneliness scale and the time spent daily

on social media r(335) = .053, p = .336. However,

considering that most of the sample devotes two or

less hours daily on social media (N=241) it was

decided to statistically analyse whether there is a

relationship between young people who have a

compulsive consumption of social media daily, i.e.

consume three or more hours of social media per day

(N=96), and young people who consume two or less

hours of social media daily in relation to their

loneliness scale.

Using a t test it is possible to highlight a

significant relationship t(335) =2,15, p = .032

between daily compulsive or non-compulsive

consumption of social media and the loneliness scale

of young people. This test indicates that young people

who spend two hours or less daily on social media

have on average a lower rate of loneliness compared

to young people who spend three or more hours a day

on social media.

3.3 Relationship Between Loneliness

and Online Gaming

After establishing that there is a significant difference

between the time spent gaming daily and the

loneliness rate of the young respondents r(335) =

.178, p = <.001 it was analysed whether there is also

a relationship between young people who do not

usually game (N=221) and those who play daily

(N=116) in relation to their loneliness scales.

Thus, through a t-test it is possible to conclude

that young people who do not play online daily have

lower mean scores of the loneliness scale compared

to young people who game, even if it is for a short

period of time, since the results show a significant

relationship between the variables t(335) = -3,36, p =

<.001.

The Correlation Between Media Consumption and Loneliness: The Case of Young People in Portugal

As we can see through the Simple Boxplot we can

identify that there is a difference in the median of the

loneliness rate, that is, the young people who do not

play daily show a lower median and a shorter

percentile compared to the young people who play

online daily. These illustrative results are in line with

those of the t-test.

Figure 1: Simple Boxplot of ULCA Loneliness Scale and

youth that play and does not play daily.

3.4 Relationship Between Loneliness

and Streaming

The time spent streaming daily displays a significant

positive correlation with the level of loneliness r(335)

= .137, p = .012. To visualize the differences in the

loneliness rate of the different times dedicated daily

to streaming, the following Simple Boxplot was used.

As can be seen, the median loneliness rate with a

lower value belongs to the young people who do not

have the habit of streaming daily and, in contrast, the

clearly higher median loneliness rate is that of young

people who stream three or more hours a day, this

habit can be considered binge-watching.

Considering binge-watching as a compulsive

behavior it was analyzed whether there is a

relationship between compulsive and non-

compulsive streaming consumption in relation to the

loneliness rate of young people. Non-compulsive

consumption was considered as two or less hours of

streaming per day and compulsive consumption as

three or more hours of streaming daily. The results of

the t-test illustrate that there is a significant

relationship between youths' loneliness rate and

compulsive binge-watching behavior t(335) = 4,14, p

= <.001, with youths who stream more than three

hours daily ( M = 49,95) having an average loneliness

rate 11 points higher compared to respondents who

do not engage in compulsive behavior ( M = 38,88).

Figure 2: Simple Boxplot of ULCA Loneliness Scale and

time spend streaming daily.

Therefore, we conclude that it is recreational

media consumption, in this case consumption in new

media, that is related to the loneliness level of young

people. As explored earlier, compulsive consumption

of streaming, called binge-watching is associated

with personality disorders, sleep pattern disturbances,

and antisocial behavior. Since we have constant

access to our mobile devices, this practice becomes

very accessible and can become an addiction equal to

alcoholism, tobacco, or other forms of addiction

(Dhanuka & Bohra, 2019).

3.5 Relationship Between the

Loneliness Level and the Habits

and Activities that Young People

Engage in when They Feel Lonely

Taking into consideration the existing data, it is also

possible to understand if there is a relationship

between the loneliness level of the respondents and

the habits and activities they practice when they feel

lonely.

Among all the response options presented, a

correlation test showed a significant positive

relationship between the loneliness level and young

people who tend to play online games when they feel

lonely r(335) = .164, p = .003, and a significant

negative relationship between the loneliness level and

young people who tend to spend time with friends and

family when they feel lonely r(335) = -.222, p =

<.001.

That is, young people who, when they feel lonely

or bored, tend to play online have, on average, a

higher level of loneliness. On the contrary, young

people who, in the same situation, turn to their friends

and family have, on average, a lower level of

loneliness. Family and friends, which are strong and

meaningful social ties, are shown to be good antidotes

to solitude, thus combating, as discussed earlier,

COMPLEXIS 2023 - 8th International Conference on Complexity, Future Information Systems and Risk

social loneliness (Hofman et al., 2022) as can be

clearly seen in the following Simple Bloxplot, it is

evident that the more time respondents spend with

their family and friends when they feel lonely or

bored, the lower the median loneliness rate.

Figure 3: Simple Boxplot of ULCA Loneliness Scale and

time spend with family and friends when feeling lonely or

bored.

4 CONCLUSIONS

This study analysed the relationship between media

consumption and loneliness in the case of young

people in Portugal, with a sample of 337 respondents

aged between 18 and 30 and living in Portugal.

Regarding the media consumption habits of

young people in Portugal, the research allows us to

highlight that social media is the main means of

media consumption of young people in Portugal. It is

possible to ascertain that young people who tend to

do their media consumption on traditional media tend

to use more platforms of this type while young people

who use new media tend to consume several digital

platforms. It should also be noted that there is a

significant negative relationship between the time

spent daily on social media and the time spent daily

reading newspapers and magazines, that is, young

people who spend more time of their day on social

media have a lower habit of reading newspapers or

magazines.

Considering the relationship between media

consumption and loneliness, the study found that

young people who spend 2 hours or less a day on

social media have on average a lower loneliness rate

compared to those who spend 3 or more hours on

social media daily, that is, consumption of 3 or more

hours becomes critical, with a significant impact on

the loneliness of individuals.

It is also possible to highlight that the media

consumption means that show a significant

correlation with the respondents' loneliness level are

online gaming and streaming. Young people who

habitually play online tend to have higher loneliness

levels compared to young people who do not play

online. In the case of streaming, young people who

spend more than 3 hours a day streaming also show

higher averages of loneliness compared to young

people who do not stream or who spend less time

daily with this type of consumption. It should be

noted that excessive consumption of streaming can be

considered binge-watching (watching a lot of

audiovisual content such as series and movies, in a

short period of time), which is considered a

compulsive behaviour (Dhanuka & Bohra, 2019).

By studying the habits of young people when they

feel lonely and bored it was possible to determine that

the more frequent the habit of seeking the company

of friends and family in this circumstance, the lower

the levels of loneliness of the respondents. On the

contrary, young people who more frequently tend to

do online gaming at these times have, on average, a

higher level of loneliness.

This study is an exploratory study and is

considered a starting point for future research that

takes into consideration this issue in view of young

people in Portugal. It is believed that the continuation

of the study of this matter is of great relevance due to

all the conclusions that have been listed. It is

emphasized that the results presented in the study are

correlations and do not present causality, that is,

cause-effect. As possible topics for future research we

highlight the study of the phenomenon of fake news

consumption and the consequences of sharing this

content on young people's personal social media, the

spiral of loneliness and social media consumption and

the impact of binge-watching on young people in

Portugal.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work is financially supported by national funds

through FCT – Foundation for Science and

Technology, I.P., under the project

UIDB/05460/2020.

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