The multifaceted impact of social media on risk, behavior, and negative emotions during the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea

This study examined how social media use is associated with risk perception and social distancing as preventive behavior, which in turn can elicit negative emotions. The study is based on data collected from a nationwide online panel survey conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea. Resu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAsian journal of communication Vol. 31; no. 5; pp. 337 - 354
Main Author Choi, Doo-Hun
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.09.2021
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Emotions
Health education
Health information
Infectious diseases
Mass media
Negative emotions
Risk behavior
Risk perception
Social distancing
Social media
Social networks
South Korea
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Summary:This study examined how social media use is associated with risk perception and social distancing as preventive behavior, which in turn can elicit negative emotions. The study is based on data collected from a nationwide online panel survey conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea. Results show that social media use directly and indirectly impacts people's negative emotions through risk perception and social distancing. The analysis also shows that risk perception and social distancing directly influence negative emotions, which plays a mediating role in the relationship between social media use and negative emotions. The findings of the study provide important implications for effective risk and health communication and health policy during an infectious disease outbreak.
ISSN:0129-2986
1742-0911
DOI:10.1080/01292986.2021.1968447