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The bright and dark sides of social media usage during the COVID-19 pandemic: Survey evidence from Japan by Susumu Cato; Takashi Iida; Kenji Ishida; Asei Ito; Hiroto Katsumata; Kenneth Mori McElwain; Masahiro Shoji is a Social Sciences article available to read on EtoBox.

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The spread of misinformation on the internet regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, such as unproven or fake cures, has been a serious concern. However, the extent to which social media usage affects individuals' health behavior, particularly when reliable information is scarce, is not well understood. This study evaluates the impact of social media usage on individuals' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as demand for necessities and social distancing. We conduct an original online survey of 1804 Japanese respondents in March 2020. Japan is suitable because it confirmed COVID-19 cases earlier than most other countries. Scientific evidence about the coronavirus and protective measures was scarce in the initial pandemic phase, despite the spread of unconfirmed rumors. Our analysis focuses on the usage of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We use the entropy balancing method to control for heterogeneity in observed characteristics between social media users and non-users. The results show that while users are more likely to maintain social distancing practices, they are also more likely to take measures whose reliability is not scientifically confirmed, such as eating fermented soybea

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Author

Susumu Cato; Takashi Iida; Kenji Ishida; Asei Ito; Hiroto Katsumata; Kenneth Mori McElwain; Masahiro Shoji

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Published

2021

Language

EN

Field

Social Sciences