Channels Adopted for Information Seeking during COVID-19: Comparing Social Media with News Media and Interpersonal Communication in Taiwan

Li, Shu‐Chu Sarrina; Wu, Tai-Yee; Zeng, Huai-Kuai; Lo, Sherman

doi:10.3390/ijerph19159321

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 29 publications

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“…As a significant public health issue, The COVID-19 pandemic forced national authorities to take various measures to control the spread of the virus during these stages, such as restricting movement (e.g., home isolation, avoiding contact with others, and shifting some work or study tasks online), strengthening medical resources, social distancing, and mandatory quarantines. Admittedly, the spread of the disease and measures to combat its transmission indeed disrupted people’s daily routines, forcing us to adapt, such as engaging in online work or study ( Gutentag and Asterhan, 2022 ; Yang et al, 2022 ), online interpersonal interactions ( Carballea and Rivera, 2020 ; Li et al, 2022 ; Friemel and Geber, 2023 ), the postponement, or even cancellation of some important plans ( Toyoda et al, 2021 ; Zilber et al, 2023 ). For students, they faced threats to their study, life, health and other aspects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relation between mental health and career-related stress among prospective graduates in higher education stage during the COVID-19 pandemic: an evidence based on network analysis

Tang,

Lei,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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IntroductionThe outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted people’s routine, bringing uncertainty and stress, leading to mental health issues. This situation is particularly acute among Chinese prospective graduates in higher education stage as they cannot predict the outcomes of their studies, graduation, and career development, and therefore experience career-related stress.MethodsThis study included 4041 prospective graduates in higher education stage (using handy sampling) recruited in March 2020 as participants (MAge = 22.56, SD = 1.865), utilizing a Sparse Gaussian Graphical Model for regularized partial correlation network analysis of depression symptoms (by PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (by GAD-7), and career-related stress, which aims to explore the role of career-related stress in the symptom networks of depression and anxiety among prospective graduates in their final semester.ResultsThe results revealed that fatigue, sad mood, and psychomotor symptoms in depression, as well as uncontrollable worry and trouble relaxing in anxiety, were central symptoms in the network. Additionally, sad mood and guilt belonging to depressive symptoms, and feeling afraid, restlessness, and irritability belonging to anxiety symptoms, served as bridge symptoms connecting symptom communities. Specifically, guilt as a depressive symptom showed a strong association with employment stress in career-related stress. There were no significant differences in network structure and global strength based on participants’ gender. However, despite no significant differences in network structure, the global strength of prospective graduates from Wuhan was significantly lower than samples from non-Hubei provinces, possibly indicative of a Typhoon Eye Effect.DiscussionThe findings of this study can inspire psychological professionals in higher education institutions to provide support for mental interventions and therapies for prospective graduates, and addressing career development issues.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relation between mental health and career-related stress among prospective graduates in higher education stage during the COVID-19 pandemic: an evidence based on network analysis

Tang,

Lei,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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Impact of National Lockdown Measures on the Association Between Social Media Use and Sleep Disturbance During COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis of 21 Nations

Cheng,

Chen,

Chen

2024

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

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Ontarians’ Perceptions of Public Health Communications and Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey Study

Fahim¹,

Cooper²,

Theivendrampillai³

et al. 2023

JMIR Form Res

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Background Clear, accurate, and transparent risk communication is critical to providing policy makers and the public with directions to effectively implement public health strategies during a health emergency. Objective We aimed to explore the public’s preferred sources of obtaining COVID-19 information, perceptions on the prevalence and drivers of misinformation during the pandemic, and suggestions to optimize health communications during future public health emergencies. Methods We administered a web-based survey that included Likert scale, multiple choice and open-ended response questions to residents of Ontario, Canada. We aimed to recruit a sample that reflected population diversity with respect to age and gender. Data were collected between June 10, 2020, and December 31, 2020, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics; open-ended data were analyzed using content analysis. Subgroup analyses to explore perceptions by age and gender were conducted using ordinal regression. Results A total of 1823 individuals participated in the survey (n=990, 54% women; n=703, 39% men; n=982, 54% aged 18-40 years; n=518, 28% aged 41-60 years; and n=215, 12% aged ≥61 years). Participants most commonly obtained COVID-19 information from local television news (n=1118, 61%) followed by social media (n=938, 51%), national or international television news (n=888, 49%), and friends and family (n=835, 46%). Approximately 55% (n=1010) of the participants believed they had encountered COVID-19–related misinformation; 70% (n=1284) of the participants reported high levels of trust in health authority websites and health care providers; 66% (n=1211) reported high levels of trust in health ministers or public health organizations. Sources perceived to be less trustworthy included friends and family, talk radio, social media, as well as blogs and opinion websites. Men were more likely to report encountering misinformation and to trust friends or family (odds ratio [OR] 1.49, 95% CI 1.24-1.79) and blogs or opinion websites (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.03-1.50), compared to women. Compared to those aged 18-40 years, participants aged ≥41years were more likely to trust all assessed information sources, with the exception of web-based media sources, and less likely to report encountering misinformation. Of those surveyed, 58% (n=1053) had challenges identifying or appraising COVID-19 information. Conclusions Over half of our participants perceived that they had encountered COVID-19 misinformation, and 58% had challenges identifying or appraising COVID-19 information. Gender and age differences in perceptions of misinformation and trust in information sources were observed. Future research to confirm the validity of these perceptions and to explore information-seeking patterns by population subgroups may provide useful insights on how to optimize health communication during public health emergencies.

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Channels Adopted for Information Seeking during COVID-19: Comparing Social Media with News Media and Interpersonal Communication in Taiwan

Cited by 4 publications

References 29 publications

The relation between mental health and career-related stress among prospective graduates in higher education stage during the COVID-19 pandemic: an evidence based on network analysis

The relation between mental health and career-related stress among prospective graduates in higher education stage during the COVID-19 pandemic: an evidence based on network analysis

Impact of National Lockdown Measures on the Association Between Social Media Use and Sleep Disturbance During COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis of 21 Nations

Ontarians’ Perceptions of Public Health Communications and Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey Study

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