City, media and pandemic stress

The paper deals with the modern metropolis, which, with all the advantages of living in a big city, is a source and catalyst of stress. The authors emphasize that in times of crisis, including epidemics, stress is on the rise. Currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the urban population is under pressure from mass media, which, instead of giving an adequate assessment of what is happening, in pursuit of ratings, often inflame the situation. However, not all people react equally to “frightening” media content. Building on the ideas of J. Rotter and R. Lazarus, the authors show how different personality types respond to pandemic-related threats and how these types are susceptible to information shock. It is concluded that optimistic worldview, intelligence, altruism, volunteering, charity are becoming particularly relevant at present.