RAPID: Technology use to facilitate social distancing and coping with the disruption of COVID-19

这项研究将迅速确定计算机和信息技术如何能够提高人们对防止新冠肺炎传播和应对社会疏远压力的措施的认识。新冠肺炎疫情给日常生活带来了许多挑战。除了对健康的影响外，个人在生活、工作和应对工作、家庭以及与朋友和家人互动的方式上也面临着前所未有的变化。然而，各种各样的技术使人们能够创造新的日常生活，继续工作，与他人联系，并应对健康风险和不断上升的焦虑和担忧。这些类型的技术经常被研究为焦虑和压力的原因，而不是作为缓解负面情绪和促进人们应对挑战的能力的解决方案。此外，这项研究还将提供新的见解，了解技术如何促进受社会距离影响的工作和日常活动，以及通过专注和有意识地使用技术，技术在减轻压力和增强心理健康方面可以发挥什么作用。该项目由赛博-人类系统和已建立的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。该项目有四个主要研究目标。首先，它试图深入了解人们正在使用哪些技术来通过社交距离防止新冠肺炎的传播，管理日常生活，以及应对压力。其次，它将探索人们是否以及如何以新的方式使用或适应技术，以满足新冠肺炎带来的新需求。第三，它试图了解技术使用与自我报告的身体健康、情绪和心理健康以及通过社交媒体数据收集和分析收集的焦虑水平之间的关系。第四，它将设计并测试正念干预，以提高人们的正念、情绪调节和应对新冠肺炎的能力。这项研究将使用调查方法、社交媒体分析和准实验方法，检查新冠肺炎大流行期间使用的一系列技术，以更好地了解技术使用与参与社会距离和其他防止病毒传播的措施之间的关系。由于该项目在数据可获得性和实时访问方面的紧迫性，该项目最适合于快速反应研究(RAPID)资助机制。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This research will swiftly identify how computer-based and information technologies can increase awareness of measures that prevent the spread of COVID-19 and coping with the stresses of social distancing. The COVID-19 pandemic presents many challenges for day-to-day life. In addition to health impacts, individuals face unprecedented changes in how they live, work, and cope with the stresses of disrupted routines at work, home, and in how they interact with friends and family. However, a wide variety of technologies enable people to create new routines, continue working, connect with others, and cope with health risks and rising levels of anxiety and worry. These types of technologies have often been studied as the cause of anxiety and stress rather than as solutions for mitigating negative emotions and facilitating people’s ability to cope with challenges. Additionally, this research will contribute novel insights about how technology facilitates work and daily activities affected by social distancing and what role they can play in reducing stress and enhancing psychological well-being through mindfulness and mindful use of technology. This project is jointly funded by Cyber-Human Systems and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This project has four primary research goals. First, it seeks to get a deep understanding of what technologies people are using to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing, to manage daily life, and to cope with stress. Second, it will explore whether and how people are using or adapting technologies in new ways to meet new needs resulting from COVID-19. Third, it seeks to understand the relationships of technology use to self-reported physical health as well as emotional and psychological well-being and to anxiety levels gathered via social media data collection and analysis. Fourth, it will design and test a mindfulness intervention to increase people’s mindfulness, emotion regulation, and coping with COVID-19. Using survey methods, social media analysis, and quasi-experimental methods, this research will examine a range of technologies being used during the COVID-19 pandemic to better understand how technology use relates to participating in social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the virus. This project fits most appropriately in the Rapid Response Research (RAPID) funding mechanism due to its urgency with regard to availability and access of data in real time.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.