Social media and spreading panic among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt

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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic became a challenge to human well-being. The rapid spread of the coronavirus diseases with quarantine measures make people use social media platforms more than before. The bad use of social media platforms affects the mental health of users leading to spread of panic among persons. This study aimed to determine the impact of social media on spreading panic about COVID-19 among adults in Egypt. This was a cross-sectional study that enrolled 2032 participants through online snowball sampling approach conducted during May 2021 to collect data from adults in Egypt. A self-administered questionnaire was used. It consists of three sections as follows: demographic characteristics, the social media platforms employed during the pandemic, the impact of social media on study participants. Nearly half of both sexes believed that spreading news about COVID-19 on social media platforms has a major role in spreading fear among people. More than half of the study participants reported that the level of Egyptian pages on social media covering COVID-19 was not good. A total of 46% females and 30.1% of males; those with primary, preparatory, higher, and postgraduate education; and 46.7% of medical and 32.1% of nonmedical were psychologically affected. The impact of social media on spreading panic among Egyptians varies according to gender, level of education, and occupation. Therefore, social media played an important role in spreading panic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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