AR
UR
A recent UAE study has suggested that using social media platforms when the COVID-19 pandemic crisis was at its height resulted in people being misinformed as well as lower mental health and wellbeing.
Researchers from the UAE University and other institutions have found that among people who received most of their pandemic-related information from social media, increased use of Facebook was associated with lower wellbeing. It was highly noticeable among people who spent a longer duration on the social networking site.
In the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, researchers noted that using Facebook for extended periods to seek COVID-19 information and updates resulted in lower well-being scores.
While the information related to COVID-19 on established news websites could typically be trusted, the internet emerged as a rumour mill with the expansion of unreliable messages during the pandemic crisis. Social media sites such as Facebook received massive criticism for allowing the spread of misinformation on various factors related to COVID-19, including vaccination and preventive measures.
Some of the most bizarre claims circulated online included eating bananas or gargling with salt water to protect against Coronavirus.
Dr Iffat Elbarazi, joint first author of the study, underlined that the team had initially believed that social media use, in general, had an adverse impact on the wellbeing of users during the pandemic. However, it was found particularly in the case of Facebook usage.
“This could be due to Facebook use being more commonly shifted towards sharing information rather than personal use,” she added.
On the other hand, other social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat are used by people for more personal reasons. Furthermore, Reddit was not commonly used among the nearly 1,000 people who participated in the online survey of the study.
Healthcare workers affected
The new study was conducted by researchers from United Arab Emirates University, the University of Sharjah, Abu Dhabi University, the Medical University of Graz in Austria and a private company.
The study took place between June-July 2020 (when the pandemic concerns were high), with the participation of a total of 993 people, out of whom one fifth were healthcare workers.
As per the study, the participants were questioned about their social media use and their well-being in accordance with a standard World Health Organisation (WHO) survey.
Previous research have discussed the positive and negative impact of social media on wellbeing. According to a 2020 study from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, social media platforms served helpful in terms of wellbeing only if they were used for conducting genuine social interaction with relatives, close friends and “meaningful” social contacts.
“The average daily time spent using social media and messaging had a small positive effect on subsequent psychological wellbeing,” Oxford academics said in a research brief outlining their findings.
Misinformation must be addressed
Dr Elbarazi underlined the need for obtaining information about relevant aspects related to health from reliable sources, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
She further called on the societies to be prepared for future “infodemics” when large amount of information - much of it unreliable - will spread and proliferate.
“We need better communication tools and training in communicating,” said Dr Elbarazi.
She further advised the authorities and websites to ensure measures to mitigate the impact of unreliable information by providing accurate evidence-based and scientific messages to address the public’s questions and concerns.
In this regard, she underlined the social responsibility of the public to ensure the consumption of only reliable information.
“There is a lot of misinformation and incomplete information out there. They (People) should avoid relying on social media for scientific or health-related information,” she said.
Dr Elbarazi noted that there is a possibility of purposeful disinformation in which wrong information is circulated on purpose. Therefore, people should refrain from accessing as well as sharing health-related information from non-validated sources. It is important to access valid and accurate information posted by local authorities or international health organisations.
"Another recent study found that using social media for health-related information may, beyond its effects on well-being, have real-world effects on behaviour," the author added.
In a study published last month, researchers in Singapore found that exposure to misinformation on social media platforms reduced self-reported engagement in social distancing and increased misinformed behaviour.
Interestingly, despite criticism over false information, Facebook also made efforts to limit the spread of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A research by scientists at George Washington University published at the beginning of this month noted that a company policy, introduced before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2019, “moderately curtailed” the number of “likes” on anti-vaccine information on the platform.
SOURCE: The National News