Digital media engagement and its relationship with depression severity

Throughout the pandemic, social media became the new newspaper, and the widespread information created a vulnerable state for the user. The study's goal is to determine the presence of depression in the Czech Republic's local population as well as how the use of media correlates with depression in the Czech population.

A web-based interviewing technique was employed. A longitudinal study method was employed, and the data were collected in 5 waves. In each wave, the population varied in number: 2,192 (2020), 2,164 (2021), 1,717 (2022), 1,707 (2023), and 2,072 (2025), and listwise 1,120 participants participated in all 5 waves. The trend analysis of depression using PHQ-5 and MUQ was calculated for the years (2020-2023 & 2025).

Total PHQ mean scores rose progressively from 7.41 (SD = 3.02) in 2020 to 8.60 (SD = 3.58) in 2025. Correlation analyzes revealed distinct, wave-dependent patterns across media engagement dimensions. Component 2 (Interactive Content and Reader Comments) demonstrated the most consistent positive correlation with depressive symptoms across all waves (r = 0.233 to 0.305, p < 0.01, moderating it r = 0.147, p < 0.01 in 2025). Component 3 (Emotional Impact and Media Stress) was positively correlated with depression during active crisis years (r = 0.069 to 0.125, p < 0.01 from 2020 to 2023) but exhibited a negative correlation in 2025 (r = -0.268, p < 0.01). Component 1 (Economic Reporting and Serious News) maintained weak or non-significant associations throughout the study period (r = 0.011 to 0.055).

The results indicate that Emotional reactivity is significantly correlated with media-related depression, while interactive content has a variable multiplier effect, and analytical news has a low direct effect. Public health interventions should prioritize emotional regulation, media literacy, and affective platform design to curb population-level mental health declines.