Channels Adopted for Information Seeking during COVID-19: Comparing Social Media with News Media and Interpersonal Communication in Taiwan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(15)2022 07 29.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1969238
ABSTRACT
By adopting niche theory, this study compared social media with news media and interpersonal communication regarding their capabilities in satisfying people's information needs of daily use, surveillance, convenience, and information quality during the outbreak of COVID-19. Two methods were adopted to collect data for this study the first was to conduct 20 intensive interviews, and the second was to administer an online survey by contracting a professional polling company with a panel of 8.8 million members. The stratified random sampling method was used to acquire a representative sample, from which 1100 valid questionnaires were obtained. The results showed that (1) Social media were superior to traditional news media in terms of its convenience. However, several new types of online news, such as Yahoo news, were able to compete with social media for convenience. (2) Interpersonal communication did not outperform in satisfying individuals' needs for the four gratifications. Nevertheless, interpersonal communication plays the role of social support for individuals.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Media
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph19159321
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS