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The bottom line is that information matters. The more news people
consumed, the more behaviors they were engaging in, said Amy Bleakley,
professor of communication and one of the lead investigators of the
project. There is often a lot of emphasis on specific content when we
study media, and where you get your news can usually result in different
outcomes, but in the case of COVID-19, we are finding that its news
exposure in general that really matters. This is a win for public health
the message about what to do is cutting through all the noise and
getting out there.
There were also differences in peoples performance of
CDC-recommended behaviors by age and political ideology, but all
participants reported engaging in reasonably high levels of risk
reduction activities. This is likely attributable to how people rely on
media in the content of crises like COVID-19.
In times of crisis, when we have a lot of media dependency, the
differences between people are much less important both in terms of
media sources and individual differences, said Jennifer Lambe,
associate professor of communication and a co-investigator on the study.
Effects are more uniform, particularly as the crisis is more life
threatening.
Although college-aged students have been shown gathering on
beaches for spring break in recent weeks, this research shows that
younger adults are actually leading the nation on risk reduction
activities. Almost 83% of 18 to 29-year-olds report engaging in five or
more recommended hygiene practices, which is 24% higher than adults 60
and older in the study. The data also show that older adults reported
doing fewer risk reduction behaviors compared to those under 30,
especially when it came to making preparations.