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Perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020 the need for rapid information spread grew and social media became the ultimate platform for information exchange as well as a tool for connection and entertainment. With the rapid information spread along came the various public misconcep...

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Autores principales: Schoultz, Mariyana, Lamph, Gary, Thygesen, Hilde, Leung, Janni, Bonsaksen, Tore, Ruffolo, Mary, Price, Daicia, Watson, Paul, Kabelenga, Isaac, Chiu, Vivian, Østertun Geirdal, Amy
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10022235/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36962922
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001463
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author Schoultz, Mariyana
Lamph, Gary
Thygesen, Hilde
Leung, Janni
Bonsaksen, Tore
Ruffolo, Mary
Price, Daicia
Watson, Paul
Kabelenga, Isaac
Chiu, Vivian
Østertun Geirdal, Amy
author_facet Schoultz, Mariyana
Lamph, Gary
Thygesen, Hilde
Leung, Janni
Bonsaksen, Tore
Ruffolo, Mary
Price, Daicia
Watson, Paul
Kabelenga, Isaac
Chiu, Vivian
Østertun Geirdal, Amy
author_sort Schoultz, Mariyana
collection PubMed
description Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020 the need for rapid information spread grew and social media became the ultimate platform for information exchange as well as a tool for connection and entertainment. With the rapid information spread along came the various public misconceptions and misinformation which consequently influenced perceptions and behaviors of the public towards the coronavirus pandemic. Thus, there was a need for identification and collation of public perceptions information to address future public health initiatives. This cross-national study aimed to examine the challenges and benefits of using social media during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. This study was a content analysis of the open-ended questions from a wider cross-sectional online survey conducted in Norway, UK, USA, and Australia during October/November 2020. 2368 participants out of 3474 respondents to the survey provided the open text responses included in the qualitative analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted independently by two researchers. All statements were coded to positive and negative sentiments. Three overarching themes were identified: 1. Mental health and emotional exhaustion 2. Information and misinformation; 3. Learning and inspiration.While providing a powerful mode of connection during the pandemic, social media also led to negative impact on public perceptions, including mistrust and confusion. Clarity in communications by institutions and education about credible information sources should be considered in the future. Further research is required in exploring and documenting social media narratives around COVID-19 in this and any subsequent incidents of pandemic restrictions. Understanding the public perceptions and their social narratives can support the designing of appropriate support and services for people in the future, while acknowledging the uncertainty and overwhelming impact of the pandemic that may have skewed the experiences of social media.
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spelling pubmed-100222352023-03-17 Perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey Schoultz, Mariyana Lamph, Gary Thygesen, Hilde Leung, Janni Bonsaksen, Tore Ruffolo, Mary Price, Daicia Watson, Paul Kabelenga, Isaac Chiu, Vivian Østertun Geirdal, Amy PLOS Glob Public Health Research Article Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020 the need for rapid information spread grew and social media became the ultimate platform for information exchange as well as a tool for connection and entertainment. With the rapid information spread along came the various public misconceptions and misinformation which consequently influenced perceptions and behaviors of the public towards the coronavirus pandemic. Thus, there was a need for identification and collation of public perceptions information to address future public health initiatives. This cross-national study aimed to examine the challenges and benefits of using social media during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. This study was a content analysis of the open-ended questions from a wider cross-sectional online survey conducted in Norway, UK, USA, and Australia during October/November 2020. 2368 participants out of 3474 respondents to the survey provided the open text responses included in the qualitative analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted independently by two researchers. All statements were coded to positive and negative sentiments. Three overarching themes were identified: 1. Mental health and emotional exhaustion 2. Information and misinformation; 3. Learning and inspiration.While providing a powerful mode of connection during the pandemic, social media also led to negative impact on public perceptions, including mistrust and confusion. Clarity in communications by institutions and education about credible information sources should be considered in the future. Further research is required in exploring and documenting social media narratives around COVID-19 in this and any subsequent incidents of pandemic restrictions. Understanding the public perceptions and their social narratives can support the designing of appropriate support and services for people in the future, while acknowledging the uncertainty and overwhelming impact of the pandemic that may have skewed the experiences of social media. Public Library of Science 2023-01-10 /pmc/articles/PMC10022235/ /pubmed/36962922 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001463 Text en © 2023 Schoultz et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Schoultz, Mariyana
Lamph, Gary
Thygesen, Hilde
Leung, Janni
Bonsaksen, Tore
Ruffolo, Mary
Price, Daicia
Watson, Paul
Kabelenga, Isaac
Chiu, Vivian
Østertun Geirdal, Amy
Perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey
title Perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey
title_full Perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey
title_fullStr Perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey
title_full_unstemmed Perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey
title_short Perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey
title_sort perceptions of social media challenges and benefits during the covid-19 pandemic: qualitative findings from a cross sectional international survey
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10022235/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36962922
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001463
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