Information Turbulence as a Challenge to the Audience’s Psychological Resilience

Abstract

The purpose of the study is a theoretical and empirical analysis of informational turbulence as a phenomenon that influences the psychological resilience of the audience under the conditions of infodemic, hybrid informational influences, and war. Accordingly, the study substantiates communication and psychological approaches aimed at strengthening this resilience.

The methodology of the research is focused on two aspects of analytical comprehension of the topic. The first aspect is a theoretical analysis of professional sources devoted to infodemic, the experience of information consumption in the conditions of war, and informational resilience, as well as the interpretation of contemporary empirical studies on these issues. The second aspect concerns practices of media content consumption and trust in information sources, which involves the generalization of sociological research data, in particular studies on the attitudes of the Ukrainian population toward the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results. The article analyzes the specifics of contemporary (dis)information consumption and describes how different groups of the target audience react to a turbulent informational environment. The content of the concept of «informational and psychological turbulence» is specified. The consequences of the combination of external and internal factors that lead to toxic informational practices and the simultaneous formation of negative emotional states are described. A set of instruments and techniques is characterized, which can be interpreted as a basic toolkit for the formation of «informational immunity» as the foundation of psychological resilience. Such instruments and techniques include, in particular, strategic communication, media literacy programs, «psychological inoculation», psychological self-regulation, etc.

The novelty of the study lies in the proposed model for integrating fragmented results of contemporary research into a holistic framework of «informational turbulence – psychological resilience – communication interventions». This model simultaneously takes into account the nature of the consequences of informational turbulence, the context of crisis situations, as well as the specific features of information dissemination and consumption in the modern world.

Practical significance. The results of the study can be used for the development of strategic communication of public authorities, as well as for the design of psycho-informational support programs for the population under conditions of war and crisis phenomena. This includes the development of «psychological inoculation» campaigns against disinformation, media literacy courses, and approaches to constructive and emotionally sensitive state communication.

Key words: informational turbulence, psychological resilience, resilience, infodemic, disinformation, media literacy, «psychological inoculation», strategic communication.