Mikal Jude P, Wurtz Rebecca, Grande Stuart W
Health Policy and Management Division, University of Minnesota, USA.
Comput Hum Behav Rep. 2021 Aug-Dec;4:100137. doi: 10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100137. Epub 2021 Aug 21.
In the wake of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations, social media assumed a central - if unofficial - role in ensuring that individuals remained informed and connected throughout the pandemic. Yet while research shows that social media can be an effective platform for connecting individuals socially and fostering social support exchanges, both the platforms and the support exchanged therein have been mired in considerable controversies regarding their use as a tool for positive social engagement. The goal of this study is to qualitatively evaluate longitudinal changes to social media engagement during social distancing recommendations and orders to shelter-in-place. To do this, we collected longitudinal, qualitative survey data from a group of adults over the eight weeks during which most states had issued orders to shelter-in-place. We analyze data for evidence of social connection, stress reduction, and support exchange, and evaluate the impact of online social ties on staying informed and on compliance with CDC recommendations and shelter-in-place orders. Results showed a clear longitudinal evolution of users' online social engagement. Early use was characterized by agentic purposeful engagement, information sharing, and community resource mobilization. However, over time these patterns gave way to more passive use characterized by listlessness, contentiousness and misinformation as the pandemic wore on in weeks. As social media comes to occupy an increasingly important role in the exchange of information (and misinformation) this study has important implications for the health of users and the role of social media in future disasters, including how social media impacts both stress and health related behaviors.
在新冠疫情社交距离建议出台后，社交媒体在确保个人在整个疫情期间保持信息畅通和联系方面发挥了核心作用——尽管是非官方的。然而，虽然研究表明社交媒体可以成为人们进行社交联系和促进社会支持交流的有效平台，但该平台及其所进行的支持交流在作为积极社会参与工具的使用方面一直深陷诸多争议之中。本研究的目的是定性评估在社交距离建议和就地避难命令期间社交媒体参与度的纵向变化。为此，我们在大多数州发布就地避难命令的八周时间里，从一组成年人中收集了纵向定性调查数据。我们分析数据以寻找社会联系、压力减轻和支持交流的证据，并评估在线社交关系对保持信息畅通以及遵守疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）建议和就地避难命令的影响。结果显示用户的在线社交参与呈现出明显的纵向演变。早期使用的特点是积极主动的有目的参与、信息分享和社区资源动员。然而，随着疫情持续数周，这些模式逐渐被以无精打采、争论和错误信息为特征的更被动使用所取代。由于社交媒体在信息（和错误信息）交流中占据着越来越重要的角色，本研究对用户健康以及社交媒体在未来灾难中的作用具有重要意义，包括社交媒体如何影响压力和与健康相关的行为。
