Online research on COVID-19—The role of content ranking and COVID-19 fear
Cyberchondria is defined as excessive online health research followed by distress. Theoretical models of cyberchondria suggest that it can be influenced by both characteristics of the internet (content, information ranking, amount and quality of information) and individual vulnerability factors (ge...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Masaryk University
2022-11-01
|
| Series: | Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/20604 |
| _version_ | 1827311015735328768 |
|---|---|
| author | Branka Bagarić Nataša Jokić-Begić |
| author_facet | Branka Bagarić Nataša Jokić-Begić |
| author_sort | Branka Bagarić |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Cyberchondria is defined as excessive online health research followed by distress. Theoretical models of cyberchondria suggest that it can be influenced by both characteristics of the internet (content, information ranking, amount and quality of information) and individual vulnerability factors (general health anxiety or COVID-19 fear). In order to simultaneously explore the role of both factors, an innovative search engine software (Foogle) was developed and used in the present study that enables manipulation of the presented content and content ranking while also recording users’ online behavior. A total of 36 participants with high and 28 participants with low COVID-19 fear searched for the long-term health effects of COVID-19 using Foogle. They were presented with search engine results that rank long-term health effects of COVID-19 from more to less severe or vice versa (randomized). Results revealed that participants who were presented with articles describing more to less severe long-term COVID-19 health effects accessed articles with a higher mean severity index. In general, participants spent more time on articles depicting more severe content. Participants with high COVID-19 fear felt more anxious post-search than those with low COVID-19 fear and expressed a greater wish to continue searching.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:10:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c07f02aebd4845a5abfcf29d9810fb16 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1802-7962 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:10:15Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Masaryk University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace |
| spelling | doaj.art-c07f02aebd4845a5abfcf29d9810fb162024-03-23T13:14:06ZengMasaryk UniversityCyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace1802-79622022-11-0116510.5817/CP2022-5-2Online research on COVID-19—The role of content ranking and COVID-19 fearBranka Bagarić0Nataša Jokić-Begić1Croatian Association for Behavioral-Cognitive Therapies (CABCT), Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia Cyberchondria is defined as excessive online health research followed by distress. Theoretical models of cyberchondria suggest that it can be influenced by both characteristics of the internet (content, information ranking, amount and quality of information) and individual vulnerability factors (general health anxiety or COVID-19 fear). In order to simultaneously explore the role of both factors, an innovative search engine software (Foogle) was developed and used in the present study that enables manipulation of the presented content and content ranking while also recording users’ online behavior. A total of 36 participants with high and 28 participants with low COVID-19 fear searched for the long-term health effects of COVID-19 using Foogle. They were presented with search engine results that rank long-term health effects of COVID-19 from more to less severe or vice versa (randomized). Results revealed that participants who were presented with articles describing more to less severe long-term COVID-19 health effects accessed articles with a higher mean severity index. In general, participants spent more time on articles depicting more severe content. Participants with high COVID-19 fear felt more anxious post-search than those with low COVID-19 fear and expressed a greater wish to continue searching. https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/20604cyberchondriaCOVID-19 fearonline health researchsearch engine rankinglong-term health effects of COVID-19experiment |
| spellingShingle | Branka Bagarić Nataša Jokić-Begić Online research on COVID-19—The role of content ranking and COVID-19 fear Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace cyberchondria COVID-19 fear online health research search engine ranking long-term health effects of COVID-19 experiment |
| title | Online research on COVID-19—The role of content ranking and COVID-19 fear |
| title_full | Online research on COVID-19—The role of content ranking and COVID-19 fear |
| title_fullStr | Online research on COVID-19—The role of content ranking and COVID-19 fear |
| title_full_unstemmed | Online research on COVID-19—The role of content ranking and COVID-19 fear |
| title_short | Online research on COVID-19—The role of content ranking and COVID-19 fear |
| title_sort | online research on covid 19 the role of content ranking and covid 19 fear |
| topic | cyberchondria COVID-19 fear online health research search engine ranking long-term health effects of COVID-19 experiment |
| url | https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/20604 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT brankabagaric onlineresearchoncovid19theroleofcontentrankingandcovid19fear AT natasajokicbegic onlineresearchoncovid19theroleofcontentrankingandcovid19fear |