Authors: Adina L. Bankier-Karp & David Graham

Abstract

This study examines the effects of social media use on anxiety levels of Australian Jews during the 5-week post-October 7 aftermath. It considers this relationship in the context of the mediating roles played by concerns about rising antisemitism in Australia and concerns about Israel. It further examines the moderating effects on these relationships of non-Jewish friends reaching out with messages of sympathy and concern, and the effects of Jewish communal ties. The analysis is based on data collected from 7611 Australian Jewish adults and employs a series of ordinary least squares regression analyses to assess the direct, indirect, and interaction effects of these variables on anxiety. The results indicate significant direct effects of social media use on anxiety levels. Additionally, concerns about antisemitism in Australia and concerns about Israel were found to mediate these relationships. Non-Jewish friends reaching out frequently with messages of sympathy and concern was found to attenuate the effects of concerns about antisemitism in Australia on anxiety. By contrast, Jewish communal ties were not found to significantly moderate the effects of concern about Israel on anxiety. These findings underscore the complex interplay between social media use, concern about local antisemitism, concern about Israel, and forms of social support in shaping anxiety levels of Australian Jews during this particular time period. The implications for mental health of ethnoreligious groups during crisis and avenues for future research are discussed.

Introduction

The events of October 7, 2023, in Israel, and the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas, alongside spikes in antisemitism across diaspora Jewish communities, were sources of great trauma and shock. The combination of shock, concerns about Israel and its people during the evolving war, together with growing concern for their own safety, suggested that many Australian Jews were experiencing elevated levels of fear and anxiety during this particular time period. An Internet-based survey fielded between November 10 and 17 2023 (n = 7611), the fifth week of the October 7 aftermath, provides data to empirically assess the impact of the Israel−Hamas war on Australia’s Jewish community (Bankier-Karp and Graham 2024). Several variables in this dataset were employed to examine in detail the relationship between social media use and anxiety among Jews in Australia. These variables included concern about antisemitism in Australia, concern about Israel, whether non-Jewish friends had reached out with messages of sympathy and concern, and the type of Jewish communal ties held. These variables were conceptualized in two moderated mediation models to examine the effects of social media use and measures of concern and support on the anxiety of Australian Jewish adults.

See full Report: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12397-024-09584-4