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

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 platform...

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Main Authors: Zarqa Shaheen Alı, Jyoti Deswalş
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2023-06-01
Series:Connectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/3C7535C21F2846D79EABD0525E972B92
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author Zarqa Shaheen Alı
Jyoti Deswalş
author_facet Zarqa Shaheen Alı
Jyoti Deswalş
author_sort Zarqa Shaheen Alı
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-831cdefe096c4c1cad6bf66af3175e272025-08-20T03:48:45ZengIstanbul University PressConnectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences2636-89432023-06-016413610.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1023972123456Use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour: managing the pandemic in Aotearoa New ZealandZarqa Shaheen Alıhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7145-5788Jyoti Deswalşhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5566-1146Abstract 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.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/3C7535C21F2846D79EABD0525E972B92social mediainformation seekingcovid-19preventive behaviourpandemic
spellingShingle Zarqa Shaheen Alı
Jyoti Deswalş
Use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour: managing the pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
Connectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences
social media
information seeking
covid-19
preventive behaviour
pandemic
title Use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour: managing the pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
title_full Use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour: managing the pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
title_fullStr Use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour: managing the pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
title_full_unstemmed Use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour: managing the pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
title_short Use of social media for seeking information about COVID-19 and people’s preventive behaviour: managing the pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
title_sort use of social media for seeking information about covid 19 and people s preventive behaviour managing the pandemic in aotearoa new zealand
topic social media
information seeking
covid-19
preventive behaviour
pandemic
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/3C7535C21F2846D79EABD0525E972B92
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