Misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among Indians during COVID-19 pandemic

<p>The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled the surge of various kinds of misinformation, hoax, conspiracy theories and rumours which have challenged the health systems all over the globe. The present study explored how Indians responded to the Misinfodemic, as a notice as well as an...

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Main Authors: Vysakh C, Dr Rajendra Babu H
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Regional Information Center for Science and Technology (RICeST) 2022-07-01
Series:International Journal of Information Science and Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ijism.ricest.ac.ir/index.php/ijism/article/view/2265
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author Vysakh C
Dr Rajendra Babu H
author_facet Vysakh C
Dr Rajendra Babu H
author_sort Vysakh C
collection DOAJ
description <p>The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled the surge of various kinds of misinformation, hoax, conspiracy theories and rumours which have challenged the health systems all over the globe. The present study explored how Indians responded to the Misinfodemic, as a notice as well as an information sharer during the deadly pandemic. The study also elucidated the cyberchondria experiences among the Indians due to the misinfodemic. An online survey questionnaire was used to identify the respondents and to collect the needed data for the study (N=266). The result showed that the majority of the participants noticed misinformation regarding the outbreak on various internet platforms predominantly social media. The misinformation led the participants to a spectrum of mental health issues like stress, anxiety, anger, insomnia and depression. 9.80% of participants admitted themselves sharing misinformation regarding the outbreak and men did more compared to females (16.9% to 9.2%) (<em>t</em><sub>143.006</sub> = 1.572, <em>p</em> =.001). The misinfodemic resulted in increasing the health anxiety of the participants and there was no significant difference among the gender in experiencing health anxiety. The findings of the study provide functional insights for advancing communication research through misinformation correction and misperception management during these kinds of unknown (medicine and treatment) pandemic situations.</p><p><a href="https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.3.15.2">https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.3.15.2</a>  </p>
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spelling doaj.art-77b5665f275e4f2b8b6f86331a3ef8342022-12-22T01:26:02ZengRegional Information Center for Science and Technology (RICeST)International Journal of Information Science and Management2008-83022008-83102022-07-01203257276444Misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among Indians during COVID-19 pandemicVysakh C0Dr Rajendra Babu H1Tumkur UniversityTumkur University<p>The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled the surge of various kinds of misinformation, hoax, conspiracy theories and rumours which have challenged the health systems all over the globe. The present study explored how Indians responded to the Misinfodemic, as a notice as well as an information sharer during the deadly pandemic. The study also elucidated the cyberchondria experiences among the Indians due to the misinfodemic. An online survey questionnaire was used to identify the respondents and to collect the needed data for the study (N=266). The result showed that the majority of the participants noticed misinformation regarding the outbreak on various internet platforms predominantly social media. The misinformation led the participants to a spectrum of mental health issues like stress, anxiety, anger, insomnia and depression. 9.80% of participants admitted themselves sharing misinformation regarding the outbreak and men did more compared to females (16.9% to 9.2%) (<em>t</em><sub>143.006</sub> = 1.572, <em>p</em> =.001). The misinfodemic resulted in increasing the health anxiety of the participants and there was no significant difference among the gender in experiencing health anxiety. The findings of the study provide functional insights for advancing communication research through misinformation correction and misperception management during these kinds of unknown (medicine and treatment) pandemic situations.</p><p><a href="https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.3.15.2">https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.3.15.2</a>  </p>https://ijism.ricest.ac.ir/index.php/ijism/article/view/2265misinfodemic, misinformation, disinformation, fake news, social media, cyberchondria, health anxiety, covid-19
spellingShingle Vysakh C
Dr Rajendra Babu H
Misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among Indians during COVID-19 pandemic
International Journal of Information Science and Management
misinfodemic, misinformation, disinformation, fake news, social media, cyberchondria, health anxiety, covid-19
title Misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among Indians during COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among Indians during COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among Indians during COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among Indians during COVID-19 pandemic
title_short Misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among Indians during COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort misinfodemic and cyberchondria experiences among indians during covid 19 pandemic
topic misinfodemic, misinformation, disinformation, fake news, social media, cyberchondria, health anxiety, covid-19
url https://ijism.ricest.ac.ir/index.php/ijism/article/view/2265
work_keys_str_mv AT vysakhc misinfodemicandcyberchondriaexperiencesamongindiansduringcovid19pandemic
AT drrajendrababuh misinfodemicandcyberchondriaexperiencesamongindiansduringcovid19pandemic