Information needs and seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study is to examine the information needs and information seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020, with an emphasis on the dissemination of digital information by government agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe research approach underlying this investigation is of the “case study” type, employing semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Israeli citizens regarding their perceptions and experiences with government information and government services during the first months of the coronavirus.FindingsThe findings of this study reveal that most participants indicated feelings of media fatigue as a result of increased exposure to news media and social media, to the point of experiencing information overload. Second, participants described feeling a lack of clear information and poor access to accurate health and official information at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel. Third, participants in the authors’ study noted that most of the information to which they were exposed about the virus came to them through communal connections such as friends and family, via social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp. In general, the participants expressed satisfaction with the quality and availability of the data and extensive information of government ministries on social networks, together with a lack of satisfaction due to difficulties in usage and a lack of clear information on traditional government websites.Originality/valueThe findings present the information acquisition and the experience of citizens in situations of national emergencies and crises, in a new light, through a focus on the dissemination of government, health and news information.

Chaos, expansion, and contraction: The information worlds of depression patients during theCOVID‐19 pandemic lockdown

“…Government social media has an important role in information security management during a crisis, as the government is the author and implementer of the lockdown policy. However, in the case of inconsistent information between municipal and district governments, between neighborhood councils and residents, or among residents, there is a tension between participants' need for specific, explicit, and localized information and the uncertainty of the epidemic development, the nonexplicit nature of information from government platforms (Yavetz et al, 2022) or inconsistency. The government should pay more attention to people who are less able to correctly attribute information in crisis response (Moreno et al, 2020) and gain insight into the underlying factors and dynamics involved in containment and control policies to better convey information for positive impact (Xu et al, 2020).…”

Cities under fire: Crisis communication on home front versus frontline cities' Facebook pages during operation ‘guardian of the walls’

“…This outcome is contrary to that of Park and Kaye (2021) and also Pang et al (2021), both of which described a higher rate of engagement and participation regarding news‐type information during emergencies. A possible explanation for this may originate in the given case study that followed directly after a year of three consecutive lockdowns, which may have caused media fatigue and exhaustion of exposure to news and guidelines (Ahmed, 2020; Yavetz et al, 2022). Our second hypothesis assumed that posts containing information about residents' affairs will yield more reactions with a positive sentiment than news and messages categories.…”

The users’ point of view: towards a model of government information behavior on social media

“…The kind of information governments might share with their citizens via social media varies, and can include updates about policy changes, events, and guidelines, and more specific information at local or municipal levels ( DePaula et al., 2018 , Giacomini et al., 2021 , Yavetz and Aharony, 2021 ). Social media platforms have proven to be particularly effective for governments to disseminate information to citizens, as seen during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in early 2020 ( Yang et al., 2020 ; Yavetz et al., 2022 ). For example, in China, regular updates on government activities encouraged and strengthened residents' involvement via online discourse ( Chen et al., 2020 ).…”