Use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour: managing the pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand

Authors : Zarqa Shaheen Ali, Jyoti Deswalş

Pages : 1-36

Doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1023972

View : 185 | Download : 224

Publication Date : 2023-07-28

Article Type : Research Article

Abstract :Abstract This study assesses the use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour to combat COVID-19. To find the answers, an online survey was conducted by sending questionnaires to 254 respondents in New Zealand (NZ) through online communication platforms. The findings show that females are more actively seeking information from social media about COVID-19. Most of the respondents look for updates about COVID-19 cases locally and globally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people are spending more time on social media. A majority of the respondents spend 3-4 hours per day on social media and prefer finding information about the pandemic from Facebook. It was found that the majority of respondents follow all updates about COVID-19 and believe that they receive timely and updated information through social media. Only a few do not follow any updates about the pandemic. In addition, when they were asked which social media platform they trust to provide true, up to date, and accurate information, most of the respondents believe that Facebook provides relevant and up-to-date information about COVID-19 compared to other traditional media. Lastly, this study identified the information received from social media and the adoption of preventive behaviour by the respondents to combat COVID-19.
Keywords : Sosyal medya, bilgi arama, COVID-19, önleyici davranış, pandemi