TY - JOUR
T1 - Feeling Connected after Experiencing Digital Nature
T2 - A Survey Study
AU - van Houwelingen-Snippe, Josca
AU - van Rompay, Thomas J L
AU - Ben Allouch, Somaya
PY - 2020/9/21
Y1 - 2020/9/21
N2 - Digital nature can provide a substitute for real nature for those who have limited access to green space, or are confined to their homes, for example during the worldwide COVID-19 lockdown. In a large-scale online survey, respondents (N = 1203) watched videos of digital nature, varying in terms of type of nature (wild versus tended nature) and spaciousness. Results show a significant increase of feelings of connectedness to the community after watching digital nature. Furthermore, tended nature scenes elicited more social aspirations than wild nature scenes. A multiple regression model further shows that living further away from nature was a significant predictor for loneliness scores, while number of nature interactions during a week was not. Results of this study confirm the importance of nature interaction for mental and social wellbeing for the general population and stress the potential of digital nature as a complementary strategy. These findings are of particular relevance to those who lack access to nature due to old age and related mobility constraints or a lockdown.
AB - Digital nature can provide a substitute for real nature for those who have limited access to green space, or are confined to their homes, for example during the worldwide COVID-19 lockdown. In a large-scale online survey, respondents (N = 1203) watched videos of digital nature, varying in terms of type of nature (wild versus tended nature) and spaciousness. Results show a significant increase of feelings of connectedness to the community after watching digital nature. Furthermore, tended nature scenes elicited more social aspirations than wild nature scenes. A multiple regression model further shows that living further away from nature was a significant predictor for loneliness scores, while number of nature interactions during a week was not. Results of this study confirm the importance of nature interaction for mental and social wellbeing for the general population and stress the potential of digital nature as a complementary strategy. These findings are of particular relevance to those who lack access to nature due to old age and related mobility constraints or a lockdown.
KW - Betacoronavirus
KW - Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology
KW - Environment
KW - Health Promotion/methods
KW - Humans
KW - Internet
KW - Loneliness
KW - Nature
KW - Pandemics
KW - Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology
KW - Stress, Psychological/prevention & control
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17186879
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17186879
M3 - Article
C2 - 32967093
VL - 17
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1660-4601
IS - 18
ER -