Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world faced lockdown and quarantine restrictions that encouraged or forced people to stay home. Along with the rest of the world, Brazil faced many difficulties during this period and it became one of the countries that lost more lives due to the Coronavirus infection worldwide. This study focuses on showing how people in Brazil coped with the challenges brought by the pandemic. It also focuses on showing if and how participants used media as a coping mechanism. The research was done through qualitative methods with semi-structured interviews with 25 adults who were living in Brazil during the pandemic and the lockdown restrictions. This study shows that participants did use media as a coping mechanism and even though they have encountered negative consequences, they have also faced and mentioned several positive effects during this period. Participants mentioned other coping mechanisms that made a difference for them during the darkest moments in the pandemic like, having interpersonal communication with family and friends, religion, gaming, and others.

Degree

MA

College and Department

Fine Arts and Communications; Communications

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2022-04-21

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12746

Keywords

COVID-19, pandemic, coping, media, social media, coping mechanisms, gaming, social interactions, qualitative, qualitative methods, mental health, anxiety, stress, home office, online studying, community, online work

Language

english

Included in

Communication Commons

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