ABSTRACT

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.

摘要

这项研究检查了社交媒体的使用如何与风险感知和社会疏远作为预防行为相关联，这反过来又会引发负面情绪。该研究基于从韩国 COVID-19 爆发期间进行的全国在线小组调查收集的数据。结果表明，社交媒体的使用通过风险感知和社交距离直接和间接影响人们的负面情绪。分析还表明，风险感知和社交距离直接影响消极情绪，消极情绪在社交媒体使用与消极情绪之间的关系中起中介作用。该研究的结果为传染病爆发期间的有效风险和健康交流以及健康政策提供了重要意义。