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Social Media and COVID-19

Sponsor
Jean Liu (Other)
Overall Status
Completed
CT.gov ID
NCT04367363
Collaborator
(none)
151
Enrollment
1
Location
2.5
Actual Duration (Months)
61.3
Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

In this protocol, we seek to examine the role of popular messaging platform WhatsApp in information spread during a crisis. As there have been few global crises in the last decade (coinciding with the rise of social media), the role of private messaging platforms such as WhatsApp during crisis contexts remains understudied. During the current COVID-19 global health crisis, we undertook this study to: (1) characterize the nature of WhatsApp use during crises, (2) characterize the profiles of WhatsApp users (3) understand how WhatsApp usage links to well-being (fear and thoughts about COVID-19).

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Behavioral: Social media & news consumption

Study Design

Study Type:
Observational
Actual Enrollment :
151 participants
Observational Model:
Cohort
Time Perspective:
Prospective
Official Title:
Tracking WhatsApp Behaviors During a Crisis: A Longitudinal Observation of Messaging Activities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Actual Study Start Date :
Mar 17, 2020
Actual Primary Completion Date :
May 7, 2020
Actual Study Completion Date :
May 31, 2020

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Community sample

We plan to recruit a representative sample of the Singapore population.

Behavioral: Social media & news consumption
Daily reports of social media use and consumption, including reports on receiving and disseminating news articles related to the COVID-19 situation (e.g., how many messaging groups shared news on the outbreak, how many items related to the outbreak they forwarded to others, etc).

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. WhatsApp usage [1 week, starting from date after baseline survey completion]

    Participants were asked a series of questions daily related to their WhatsApp usage behaviors - in particular, their message-forwarding, personal chat and group chat behaviors.

  2. Changes in fear with regards the COVID-19 situation across 1 week [1 week, starting from date after baseline survey completion]

    1 item each day on fear specifically of the COVID-19 situation (measured on a 4 point scale: min = 1, max = 4; higher scores indicating greater fear about the outbreak).

  3. Changes in amount of thinking about the COVID-19 situation across 1 week [1 week, starting from date after initial survey completion]

    1 item each day on how much they thought about the outbreak that day (measured on a 5 point scale: min = 1, max = 5; higher scores indicating more thinking about the outbreak).

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
21 Years and Older
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Yes
Inclusion Criteria:

  • At least 21 years

  • Has stayed in Singapore for at least 2 years

  • Has a WhatsApp account that can be used for the research study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Below 21 years

  • Has stayed in Singapore for less than 2 years

  • Does not have a WhatsApp account that can be used for the research study

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 Yale-NUS College Singapore Singapore 138527

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • Jean Liu

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jean Liu, PhD, Yale-NUS College

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.
Responsible Party:
Jean Liu, Assistant Professor, Yale-NUS College
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT04367363
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • 2020-CERC-001B
First Posted:
Apr 29, 2020
Last Update Posted:
Dec 29, 2020
Last Verified:
Dec 1, 2020
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
No
Plan to Share IPD:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
No
Keywords provided by Jean Liu, Assistant Professor, Yale-NUS College
Social Media
Misinformation
COVID-19
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
COVID-19

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Dec 29, 2020