Page 39 - IJSA, Vol. 4, No 2, 2021

International Journal of Science Annals, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2021
рrint ISSN: 2617-2682; online ISSN: 2707-3637; DOI:10.26697/ijsa

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES. Rehabilitation

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
“Looking for Fun or Escaping the Fear?”
How Can COVID-19 Cyberchondriacs Enjoy
the Online Shopping During the Pandemic

Author’s Contribution: 1 ABCDEFG
A – Study design; Masmoudi M. H.
B – Data collection;
C – Statistical analysis; 1 University of Sfax, Tunisia
D – Data interpretation;
E – Manuscript preparation;
F – Literature search; Received: 20.11.2021; Accepted: 18.12.2021; Published: 25.12.2021

G – Funds collection

Abstract
Background and As the pandemic escalated into a global health crisis with abundant reports,
Aim of Study: updates and personal stories invading the World Wide Web and the social media,
the context of COVID-19 offered for researchers an opportunity exploring the
cyberchondria concept. Surprisingly, despite its prominence, the consequences of
this shift in health behavior are still not fully appreciated. For many
cyberchondriacs, the online shopping experience is considered as a coping
strategy.
The aim of the study: to investigate how excessive health-related anxiety leads to
online shopping enjoyment, and to examine the mediating roles of COVID-19 fear
and hedonic shopping motivation.

Material and Methods: A survey methodology is used to collect responses from a sample of 355 consumers
in Tunisia and analyzed via AMOS 23. Structural equation modeling was used to
assess the causal relationship between measured variables.

Results: Our results indicate that during the current pandemic, the cyberchondria was
associated with an increased online shopping enjoyment guided both by a
developed fear from this virus and some of the hedonic motivations.

Conclusions: This study is one of the first studies that investigate the impact of cyberchondria
on shopping experiences. Our findings may indicate starting points for some
public health marketers and managers to make interventions to reduce
cyberchondria during the pandemic. Particularly, online shopping may be
considered as a safe space, where anxious people may escape. However, public
health organizations should carefully consider these outcomes of cyberchondria
and should elucidate clear pathways of action so that consumers feel empowered
to tackle the pandemic effectively.

Keywords: cyberchondria, COVID-19 pandemic, health anxiety, consumer well-being, fear,
hedonic shopping motivations, online shopping enjoyment

Copyright: © 2021 Masmoudi M. H. Published by Archives of International Journal of
Science Annals

DOI and UDC DOI https://doi.org/10.26697/ijsa.2021.2.4 UDC 614.46:614.441

Conflict of interests: The author declares that there is no conflict of interests

Peer review: Double-blind review

Source of support: This research did not receive any outside funding or support

Information about Masmoudi Manel Hakim – https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7902-7094;
the author: [email protected]; Doctor of Philosophy in Management
Sciences (Marketing), Assistant Professor, University of Sfax, Tunisia.

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