Centre for Information Management, Loughborough Business School, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK.
School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Sep 4;20(17):6707. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20176707.
This paper explores the influence of social media in fostering resilience within an urban spatial context, specifically in Bangalore, India, during the COVID-19 lockdown, a period marked by a surge in digital communication due to movement restrictions. To control the rapid spread of the virus, over 1.38 billion people were given stay-at-home orders by the government of India during the onset of the pandemic. The restrictions in movement forced individuals to shift to online modes of connection and communication. As the field of digital epidemiology, that is, the use of digital tools and data to understand and improve health took center stage during the pandemic, the focus shifted towards the social media landscape, which is often associated with its negative aspects, such as misinformation. However, this paper delves into social media's potential to build resilience on a local scale, particularly given its increased usage during the pandemic. Through in-depth online interviews with eight urban residents, we conducted a thematic analysis to understand social media's role during the lockdown. Results indicate that social media facilitated effective information exchange and fostered a sense of community. Furthermore, it engendered an environment conducive to prosocial behavior, a known resilience amplifier. We also highlight the importance of baseline context regarding the users directly engaged in social media data generation with respect to digital epidemiology analytics tools for large-scale social media data and the need for qualitative input feeding into their design. Our study highlights the need for a balanced perspective on social media use in times of crisis, recognizing its potential to boost community resilience in an urban setting, and further enriching digital epidemiology approaches.
本文探讨了社交媒体在城市空间背景下培养韧性的影响，特别是在印度班加罗尔，在 COVID-19 封锁期间，由于行动限制，数字通信激增。为了控制病毒的快速传播，印度政府在疫情爆发期间对数以亿计的人下达了居家令。行动限制迫使个人转向在线连接和沟通模式。随着数字流行病学领域的出现，即利用数字工具和数据来了解和改善健康状况成为焦点，重点转向了社交媒体格局，而社交媒体通常与负面方面相关联，例如错误信息。然而，本文深入探讨了社交媒体在地方层面上建立韧性的潜力，特别是考虑到其在疫情期间的使用率增加。通过对 8 名城市居民进行深入的在线访谈，我们进行了主题分析，以了解封锁期间社交媒体的作用。结果表明，社交媒体促进了有效的信息交流并培养了社区意识。此外，它营造了有利于亲社会行为的环境，而亲社会行为是已知的韧性放大器。我们还强调了在使用大规模社交媒体数据的数字流行病学分析工具时，直接参与社交媒体数据生成的用户的基线背景的重要性，以及需要将定性投入纳入其设计。我们的研究强调了在危机时期需要对社交媒体的使用持平衡的观点，认识到它在城市环境中增强社区韧性的潜力，并进一步丰富了数字流行病学方法。
