COVID-19 Sensitization and the Media in the World of Information Overload
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Date
2023
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Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences
Abstract
The end of November 2019 saw the initial discovery of COVID-19 in
Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The rapidly changing facts on COVID-
19 are delivered through minute-by-minute updates, daily government
brieings, and expert commentary. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly
impacted individuals' mental health worldwide. This study investigated
the relationship between COVID-19 sensitization and stress, anxiety, and
depression, extensively using social media as a potential mediator and
information overload as a moderator. Additionally, the study examined
the application of technological determinism theory to understanding
these associations. The research involved 146 undergraduate students
at Redeemer's University, Nigeria, who completed a self-administered
questionnaire. A quantitative research design with a cross-sectional
approach was employed, and SmartPLS was used for data analysis.
The results revealed a signiicant positive association between COVID-
19 sensitization and stress, anxiety, and depression. Social media use
acted as a partial mediator, suggesting that individuals experiencing
higher stress, anxiety, and depression levels were more likely to engage
extensively with social media platforms, potentially reinforcing their
COVID-19 sensitization. Furthermore, information overload signiicantly
moderated the relationship between social media use and COVID-19
sensitization. Individuals with higher information overload experienced
heightened COVID-19 sensitization when using social media extensively.
Additionally, people are exposed to more information the more often they use
media, which increases the possibility that they will experience information
overload. .