Assessment of COVID-19 Information Overload Among the General Public

Abstract

Background A relentless flood of information accompanied the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. False news, conspiracy theories, and magical cures were shared with the general public at an alarming rate, which may lead to increased anxiety and stress levels and associated debilitating consequences.Objectives To measure the level of COVID-19 information overload (COVIO) and assess the association between COVIO and sociodemographic characteristics among the general public. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between April and May 2020 using a modified Cancer Information Overload scale. The survey was developed and posted on four social media platforms. The data were only collected from those who consented to participate. COVIO score was classified into high vs. low using the asymmetrical distribution as a guide and conducted a binary logistic regression to examine the factors associated with COVIO. Results A total number of 584 respondents participated in this study. The mean COVIO score of the respondents was 19.4 (± 4.0). Sources and frequency of receiving COVID-19 information were found to be significant predictors of COVIO. Participants who received information via the broadcast media were more likely to have high COVIO than those who received information via the social media (adjusted odds ratio ([aOR],14.599; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.608-132.559; p = 0.017). Also, participants who received COVID-19 information every minute (aOR, 3.892; 95% CI,; p = 0.032) were more likely to have high COVIO than those who received information every week. Conclusion The source of information and the frequency of receiving COVID-19 information were significantly associated with COVIO. The COVID-19 information is often conflicting, leading to confusion and overload of information in the general population. This can have unfavorable effects on the measures taken to control the transmission and management of COVID-19 infection.

“You Are Not Alone”–Opportunities and Challenges for University Students’ Collaborative Engagement When Dealing With Online Information About COVID-19

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people experienced information overload (Hong and Kim, 2020;Mohammed et al, 2021), which in health information-related contexts is often defined as the feeling of being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information (Jensen et al, 2014). Importantly, information overload can also be felt when information about COVID-19 is provided offline via broadcast-in this case, people have little control over what information they take in compared to when they seek information on social media (Mohammed et al, 2021).…”

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people experienced information overload (Hong and Kim, 2020;Mohammed et al, 2021), which in health information-related contexts is often defined as the feeling of being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information (Jensen et al, 2014). Importantly, information overload can also be felt when information about COVID-19 is provided offline via broadcast-in this case, people have little control over what information they take in compared to when they seek information on social media (Mohammed et al, 2021). During the pandemic, people often consumed information from several sources-such as broadcast in addition to social media-and often on a daily basis or even every minute, which can increase feelings of information overload (Hong and Kim, 2020;Motta Zanin et al, 2020;Mohammed et al, 2021).…”

“…Importantly, information overload can also be felt when information about COVID-19 is provided offline via broadcast-in this case, people have little control over what information they take in compared to when they seek information on social media (Mohammed et al, 2021). During the pandemic, people often consumed information from several sources-such as broadcast in addition to social media-and often on a daily basis or even every minute, which can increase feelings of information overload (Hong and Kim, 2020;Motta Zanin et al, 2020;Mohammed et al, 2021). One's perceived information overload can also be specifically related to one's actions: For instance, students and university staff who felt overwhelmed by the amount of information they read on COVID-19 also felt less self-efficient in terms of taking measures to avoid COVID-19 (Farooq et al, 2020).…”

Social media and COVID-19 information in Bangladesh

“…For that reason, COVID-19 information overload (COVIO) has received much attention from researchers around the world (Mohammed et al, 2021;Valika et al, 2020). COVIO is the information overload caused by the pandemic.…”

“…Regarding mediated information consumption, a study revealed that the individuals who receive information from mainstream media than social media are more likely to be affected by COVIO (Mohammed et al, 2021). In contrast, other studies claimed that the consumption of social media has increased remarkably during the pandemic that makes more individuals overloaded with information (Keelery, 2020;Rathore & Farooq, 2020).…”