Exploring the impact of personal and social media-based factors on judgments of perceived skepticism of COVID-19.

Skepticism of COVID-19 has consequences for public health. We examined several variables that we reasoned were related to skepticism, including demographic factors, people’s perceptions and experiences related to COVID-19, and social media usage. The sample consisted of 294 participants recruited in April of 2020. Participants filled out a survey that included questions related to demographics, social media use, COVID-19 anxiety, COVID-19 interference, and COVID-19 skepticism. In the main, biological sex, ethnicity, and social media use were not significantly associated with skepticism regarding COVID-19. Alternatively, older participants and those who experienced greater anxiety related to the pandemic were less skeptical of COVID-19. Interestingly, people who experienced more interference in their lives because of COVID-19 were more skeptical of the pandemic. Finally, social media use moderated the influence of anxiety and interference on skepticism. The negative effect of anxiety on skepticism became weaker as people’s use of social media increased. The positive effect of interference related to COVID-19 on skepticism became stronger as people used more social media. Our findings underscore the importance of personal beliefs, attitudes, and experiences when explaining skepticism of the pandemic.

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Work Title Exploring the impact of personal and social media-based factors on judgments of perceived skepticism of COVID-19.
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Nhung Cam Vu
  2. Brian Manata
  3. Andrew High
Keyword
  1. COVID-19
  2. skepticism
  3. anxiety
  4. interference
  5. social media use
License CC BY 4.0 (Attribution)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. COVID
Publication Date July 9, 2024
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid4070071
Related URLs
Deposited July 09, 2024

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Updated
  • Updated
  • Updated Publisher, Description, Publication Date Show Changes
    Publisher
    • COVID
    Description
    • Skepticism of COVID-19 has consequences for public health. We examined several variables that we reasoned were related to skepticism, including demographic factors, people’s perceptions and
    • experiences related to COVID-19, and social media usage. The sample consisted of 294 participants recruited in April of 2020. Participants filled out a survey that included questions related to demographics, social media use, COVID-19 anxiety, COVID-19 interference, and COVID-19 skepticism. In the main, biological sex, ethnicity, and social media use were not significantly associated with
    • skepticism regarding COVID-19. Alternatively, older participants and those who experienced greater anxiety related to the pandemic were less skeptical of COVID-19. Interestingly, people who experienced
    • more interference in their lives because of COVID-19 were more skeptical of the pandemic. Finally, social media use moderated the influence of anxiety and interference on skepticism. The negative effect of anxiety on skepticism became weaker as people’s use of social media increased. The positive effect of interference related to COVID-19 on skepticism became stronger as people used more social media. Our findings underscore the importance of personal beliefs, attitudes, and experiences when explaining skepticism of the pandemic.
    Publication Date
    • 2024
  • Added Creator Nhung Cam Vu
  • Added Creator Brian Manata
  • Added Creator Andrew High
  • Added Vu et al. (2024) covid skepticism & social media.pdf
  • Updated Description, License Show Changes
    Description
    • Skepticism of COVID-19 has consequences for public health. We examined several variables that we reasoned were related to skepticism, including demographic factors, people’s perceptions and
    • experiences related to COVID-19, and social media usage. The sample consisted of 294 participants recruited in April of 2020. Participants filled out a survey that included questions related to demographics, social media use, COVID-19 anxiety, COVID-19 interference, and COVID-19 skepticism. In the main, biological sex, ethnicity, and social media use were not significantly associated with
    • skepticism regarding COVID-19. Alternatively, older participants and those who experienced greater anxiety related to the pandemic were less skeptical of COVID-19. Interestingly, people who experienced
    • more interference in their lives because of COVID-19 were more skeptical of the pandemic. Finally, social media use moderated the influence of anxiety and interference on skepticism. The negative effect of anxiety on skepticism became weaker as people’s use of social media increased. The positive effect of interference related to COVID-19 on skepticism became stronger as people used more social media. Our findings underscore the importance of personal beliefs, attitudes, and experiences when explaining skepticism of the pandemic.
    • Skepticism of COVID-19 has consequences for public health. We examined several variables that we reasoned were related to skepticism, including demographic factors, people’s perceptions and experiences related to COVID-19, and social media usage. The sample consisted of 294 participants recruited in April of 2020. Participants filled out a survey that included questions related to demographics, social media use, COVID-19 anxiety, COVID-19 interference, and COVID-19 skepticism. In the main, biological sex, ethnicity, and social media use were not significantly associated with skepticism regarding COVID-19. Alternatively, older participants and those who experienced greater anxiety related to the pandemic were less skeptical of COVID-19. Interestingly, people who experienced more interference in their lives because of COVID-19 were more skeptical of the pandemic. Finally, social media use moderated the influence of anxiety and interference on skepticism. The negative effect of anxiety on skepticism became weaker as people’s use of social media increased. The positive effect of interference related to COVID-19 on skepticism became stronger as people used more social media. Our findings underscore the importance of personal beliefs, attitudes, and experiences when explaining skepticism of the pandemic.
    License
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated Keyword, Publisher Identifier (DOI), Related URLs, and 1 more Show Changes
    Keyword
    • COVID-19, skepticism, anxiety, interference, social media use
    Publisher Identifier (DOI)
    • https://doi.org/10.3390/covid4070071
    Related URLs
    • https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/4/7/71
    Publication Date
    • 2024
    • 2024-07-09