Media Use and Well-being: Understanding the Interplay in the Context of Tibetan Youth in India Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

The advent of the positive psychology has shifted the focus of a wellbeing from a clinical perspective to a social perspective which further complemented the post-modern construction of wellbeing in the form of happiness and positive thinking. The contribution of media in this construction is significant, since media has pervaded each and every aspect of our socio-cultural as well as individual existence at an unprecedented rate during the past few decades. This study delineates the potential benefits of media exposure on wellbeing within the disciplinary boundaries of media psychology, while looking at the Indian and Tibetan understanding of the wellbeing construct. It explores the intrinsic effects of media usage on social and cultural wellbeing of young Tibetan people living in various settlements in India. The study delves into the ways in which the young Tibetans interact to ensure the wellbeing of their family, relatives and community in a connected, yet physically distant world endeavouring to explore the evolving implications of the media exposure, especially of ‘new media’, on wellbeing.