What influences people to engage with COVID-19 information online?
Channel: Research Shorts
Date: 2021-11-17

This video shares the results of a research study that examines why people choose to engage or disengage with information related to COVID-19 online. Our research team interviewed 18 Canadian adults to find out.

Our findings show that there is a complex web of factors that influence people’s engagement with COVID-19 information. While some choices are motivated by individual preferences, such as the visual appeal of a post, we also found that there are a host of social factors that inform a person's engagement choices. For instance, a person's relationship with the poster is one factor that has a strong influence on their engagement choices concerning COVID-19 information. 

Understanding the social factors that influence how and why people engage with information online can help researchers and public health communicators craft stronger COVID-19 messages that are engaging and impactful to the widest possible audience. You can read more about our findings here: https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211050903