Abstract
The brutal downside of social media and the Internet was exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, as false claims fueled distrust and hindered vaccination efforts. Consequently, we analyzed survey data from New Jersey, which ranked 10th among U.S. states in COVID-19 confirmed cases and 11th in COVID-19 related deaths, to study how different information sources shape people’s attitudes and behaviors towards COVID-19. We discovered a surprising trend: people who initially sought health-related information from social media platforms, despite potential risks of misinformation and disinformation, ultimately exhibited higher vaccination intentions and received more doses compared to those who relied on conventional news outlets. This unexpected finding challenges the assumption that social media merely breeds misinformation, pointing to social media’s two-way communication dynamic as a significant contributing factor. Social media can facilitate open discussions, myth-busting, and a more nuanced understanding of public concerns, all of which have the potential to improve public health interventions and encourage well-informed healthcare decisions, if employed properly.
Presenters
Kasny DamasStudent, Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration, Rutgers University-NEwark, New Jersey, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
COVID-19, Health literacy, Social medial, Misinformation, Disinformation
