Social media & COVID-19: A global study of digital crisis interaction among Gen Z and Millennials

Technology advancements and social media create opportunities to keep people safe, informed and connected. However, the same tools also enable and amplify the current infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardizes measures to control the pandemic.

Hyderabad:WHO, Wunderman Thompson, the University of Melbourne and Pollfish share the outcomes of a global study investigating how Gen Z and Millennials get information on the COVID pandemic. A year on, the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic shows how the spread of misinformation - amplified on social media and other digital platforms – is proving as much a threat to global public health as the virus itself.

• The unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how the spread of misinformation, amplified on social media and other digital platforms, is proving to be as much a threat to global public health as the virus itself.
• Technology advancements and social media create opportunities to keep people safe, informed and connected. However, the same tools also enable and amplify the current infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardizes measures to control the pandemic.
• Although young people are at less risk of severe disease from COVID-19, they are a key group in the context of this pandemic and share in the collective responsibility to help us stop transmission.
• They are also the most active online, interacting with an average number of 5 digital platforms (such as Twitter, TikTok, WeChat and Instagram) daily.

READ:Social media and COVID-19: opportunity or disaster?

To better understand how young adults are engaging with technology during this global communication crisis, an international study was conducted, covering approximately 23,500 respondents, aged 18-40 years, in 24 countries across five continents.

This project was a collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO), Wunderman Thompson, the University of Melbourne and Pollfish. With data collected from late October 2020 to early January 2021, the outcome provided key insights on where Gen Z and Millennials seek COVID-19 information, who they trust as credible sources, their awareness and actions around false news, and their concerns are. Some key insights uncovered include.

Science content is seen asshare-worthy

Science content is seen as share-worthy

When asked what COVID-19 information (if any) they would likely post on social media, 43.9% of respondents, both male and female, reported they would likely share “scientific” content on their social media.

This finding appears to buck the general trend on social media where funny, entertaining and emotional content spread fastest. This is followed by information “relevant to me” (36.7%) and content that is “concerning” (28.5%).

In addition, 28.3% say they most likely share content that includes an article, followed by posts that include a video (24.1%), image (23.0%), narrative (20.8%), creates an emotional reaction (18.2%) and is humorous (18.1%).

Awareness of false news is high but so is apathy

How one reacts to fake news

More than half (59.1%) of Gen Z and Millennials surveyed are “very aware” of “fake news” surrounding COVID-19 and can often spot it. However, the challenge is in recruiting them to actively counter it, rather than letting it slide, with many (35.1%) just ignoring it.

READ:Don't buy panic from social media, follow guidelines: Chhattisgarh health officer

While 24.4% report the content and 19.3% comment on it. Only 8.7% unfollow the account that shared it. This awareness extends to what they share: 40.8% say they always make sure content is accurate before posting it on social media,

While 36.6% say they do so “most of the time.” Just over a third (37.5%) admit to having shared content on social media that they later found was incorrect. Of these, 87.1% say they later corrected or deleted the content.

Gen Z and Millennials have multiple worries beyond getting sick

Top Concerns During the Pandemic

While it is often suggested that young adults are ‘too relaxed' and do not care about the crisis, this notion is not reflected in the data, with over 90% of respondents were very concerned or somewhat concerned about the risk of infection. Beyond getting sick themselves, the top concerns of respondents (55.5%) was the risk of friends and family members contracting COVID-19, closely followed by the economy crashing (53.8%).

These insights can help health organizations, governments, media, businesses, educational institutions and others sharpen their health communication strategies. Ensuring policy and recommendations are relevant to young people in a climate of misinformation, scepticism and fear.

Gen Z and Millennials rely on multiple sources for their COVID-19 information, but national mainstream media is still tops

Sources for COVID-19 News and Information

When asked where they go first for Covid-19 news and information, 43.6% of respondents overall say national newspapers, TV and radio; 36.2% say they actively search on search sites and 35.2% pick international news media.

Social media content by traditional media (34.2%) is also popular as is social media content from WHO (31.5%). This “multi-source” environment also includes health and science experts (28.8%) and government sources (28.3%).

READ:As COVID pushes the world online, how much data is generated every minute?

In India, Mexico and Nigeria, the WHO’s social media channels are the most popular initial destination for COVID-19 news and information, while in Egypt, Indonesia, Russia and South Korea, search platforms are the first choice.

Personal interaction ranks lower, with 22.4% getting COVID-19 information first from family, 19.8% from friends and 16.1% via their friends’ social media content.