Social media use, and fear of COVID-19 among Ghanaian university students: the moderating role of gender
Date
2022
Authors
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMC Psychology
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 and its associated social restrictive measures and lockdowns exacerbated the use of social
media and other technological facilities for communication. This study, therefore, examined Ghanaian students’ social
media use and its relationship with fear of COVID-19, paying close attention to the moderating role of gender.
Methods: A correlational online survey was used to collect data from a purposive sample of 209 University students
in June and July 2020. Participants completed online measures on social media use and fear of COVID-19. Statistical
analyses, including independent-t test, Pearson correlation test and moderation analysis in PROCESS, were conducted
using SPSS v.24.
Results: Findings revealed that the mean scores of social media use and fear of COVID-19 did not statistically differ
by gender. However, social media use had a small and positive association with fear of COVID-19 (r = 0.18, p = 0.009).
Furthermore, gender was a significant moderator of the relationship between social media use and fear of COVID-19. Specifically, the increased use of social media resulted in greater experiences of females fearing COVID-19.
(B = −0.24, p = 0.034) compared to males.
Conclusion: Although social media was useful in connecting with people and accessing pandemic-related information,
Our findings clearly suggest that overuse or over-engagement with social media was problematic, especially for
females. Aside from developing interventions to reduce students’ fears of COVID-19, appropriate usage of social media
should be advocated.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Gender, Social media use, Fear of COVID-19