Infodemic: socio-psychological vectors of reducing information overload

- Кочубейник, Ольга Миколаївна (orcid.org/0000-0001-6460-8494) (2022) Infodemic: socio-psychological vectors of reducing information overload Науковий вісник Херсонського державного університету. Серія «Психологічні науки», 2. pp. 94-100. ISSN 2312-3206

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Abstract

Purpose. The relevance of the problem stated in the article drives from the fact that infodemic totally influences all areas of human activity. Media (іncluding social media) are considered to be one of the most important factors in the process of creating and distributing infodemic narratives – both in an intentional or a nonintentional way. This study aims to investigate how media influences an informative adaptation of a personality during spread of coronavirus infection, to develop recommendations for protection and counteraction against information superfluity. The scientific novelty of the study consists in assessment of the peculiarities of media perception by people of different ages and employed in different areas of professional activity. Methods. The study, organized as a quasi-experiment with unbounded samples, was undertaken in two steps, the first of which was in March 2020, and the second – in April 2021. Variables were measured with an extended Likert scale to assess different aspects of media flow. Sample populations were formed by using an online survey (namely, “respondent-driven sampling”) in compliance with procedures ensuring representativeness. The focus of the results interpretation was on socially determined vectors of changes in assessment of media flow. Results. Two vectors have been singled out to explain changes in assessment of media flow under infodemic circumstances. The first of them is mediated by age characteristics, while the second is mediated by a field of professional activity. The first vector – desensitization – acts in the direction of loss of novelty and attractiveness of information related to the pandemic. The second vector – pragmatism – is determined by the usefulness of information for the organization of professional activity. Conclusions. Media played a crucial role in making people connected in spite of isolation, providing information regarding both the precautions, disease statistics, safety measures as well as health-threatening misinformation, rumors and fake news. It is necessary to advocate an increasing responsibility of media towards their target audiences for publishing fake news; deeper fact-checking of information that could be a threat to society.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	transformation of everyday life, pandemic, age, professional activity, adherence to pandemic mitigation methods.
Subjects:	Science and knowledge. Organization. Computer science. Information. Documentation. Librarianship. Institutions. Publications > 1 Philosophy. Psychology Science and knowledge. Organization. Computer science. Information. Documentation. Librarianship. Institutions. Publications > 3 Social Sciences > 304 Social questions. Social practice. Cultural practice. Way of life (Lebensweise)
Divisions:	The Institute of Social and Political Psychology > Department of Psychology of Political and Legal Relations
Depositing User:	Ольга Миколаївна Кочубейник
Date Deposited:	14 Nov 2022 19:16
Last Modified:	14 Nov 2022 19:16
URI:	https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/id/eprint/732664

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