The Impact of Social Media on Panic During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iraqi Kurdistan: Online Questionnaire Study
The Impact of Social Media on Panic During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iraqi Kurdistan: Online Questionnaire Study
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DOI：
10.2196/19556
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发表时间：
2020-05-19
影响因子：
7.4
通讯作者：
Murad, Hersh Rasool
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ahmad, Araz Ramazan;Murad, Hersh Rasool
背景：在2020年的头几个月，有关冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的信息和新闻报道在社交媒体和社交网站上迅速发布和分享。虽然信息流行病学领域对网络和社交媒体上的信息模式进行了至少18年的研究，但COVID-19大流行被称为第一次社交媒体信息大流行。然而，关于社交媒体信息是否以及如何传播恐慌并影响社交媒体用户的心理健康，证据有限。目的：本研究的目的是确定社交媒体如何影响伊拉克库尔德斯坦地区自我报告的心理健康和COVID-19恐慌的传播。方法：为开展本研究，在伊拉克库尔德斯坦地区编制了一份在线调查问卷，共抽样了516名社交媒体用户。本研究采用内容分析法对数据进行分析。相应的，使用SPSS软件对数据进行分析。结果：参与者报告说，社交媒体对传播与伊拉克库尔德斯坦新冠肺炎疫情有关的恐惧和恐慌产生了重大影响，对人们的心理健康和心理健康产生了潜在的负面影响。Facebook是传播伊拉克新冠疫情恐慌的最常用社交媒体。我们发现自我报告的社交媒体使用与与COVID-19相关的恐慌传播之间存在显著的正统计相关性（R=.8701）。我们的研究结果表明，大多数18-35岁的年轻人面临心理焦虑。结论：在封锁期间，人们正在使用社交媒体平台获取有关COVID-19的信息。社交媒体恐慌对人们影响的性质取决于个人的性别、年龄和教育水平。社交媒体在传播对伊拉克库尔德斯坦新冠肺炎疫情的焦虑方面发挥了关键作用。
Background: In the first few months of 2020, information and news reports about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were rapidly published and shared on social media and social networking sites. While the field of infodemiology has studied information patterns on the Web and in social media for at least 18 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has been referred to as the first social media infodemic. However, there is limited evidence about whether and how the social media infodemic has spread panic and affected the mental health of social media users.Objective: The aim of this study is to determine how social media affects self-reported mental health and the spread of panic about COVID-19 in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.Methods: To carry out this study, an online questionnaire was prepared and conducted in Iraqi Kurdistan, and a total of 516 social media users were sampled. This study deployed a content analysis method for data analysis. Correspondingly, data were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: Participants reported that social media has a significant impact on spreading fear and panic related to the COVID-19 outbreak in Iraqi Kurdistan, with a potential negative influence on people's mental health and psychological well-being. Facebook was the most used social media network for spreading panic about the COVID-19 outbreak in Iraq. We found a significant positive statistical correlation between self-reported social media use and the spread of panic related to COVID-19 (R=.8701). Our results showed that the majority of youths aged 18-35 years are facing psychological anxiety.Conclusions: During lockdown, people are using social media platforms to gain information about COVID-19. The nature of the impact of social media panic among people varies depending on an individual's gender, age, and level of education. Social media has played a key role in spreading anxiety about the COVID-19 outbreak in Iraqi Kurdistan.