Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social Media During the COVID-19 and Vaccine Hesitancy Among People

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Future of Work and Business in Covid-19 Era

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics ((SPBE))

  • 779 Accesses

Abstract

COVID-19 has made a big impact worldwide due to its tendency to rapidly spread. All nations across the world have taken all possible measures to minimize its effect and to bring life back to normal. Vaccine for COVID-19 has come into the market but the hunt for a better vaccine is still going on. The community is showing mixed responses towards the acceptance of the vaccine despite the unprecedented efforts that are being taken globally to develop a vaccine against COVID-19. Since the advent of COVID-19 and till the vaccine is being given to the people, social media has been on the forefront of spreading news related to COVID-19 and vaccination. Social media has created the perception among people related to every situation during the pandemic, therefore the current study reveals the impact of social media on people and their reaction to the situation. The objective of the study was to assess the influence of social media with respect to the awareness and behavioural change among people and also examining the influence on acceptance of the vaccine. The data was collected from social media platforms and using quantitative methods. It was suggested that social media can encourage positive behavioural changes and it can also be used as powerful media tool to address social concern and to remove social dogma among people with regards to vaccination.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Al-Dmour, H., R. Masa’deh, A. Salman, M. Abuhashesh, and R. Al-Dmour. 2020. Influence of social media platforms on public health protection against the COVID-19 pandemic via the mediating effects of public health awareness and behavioral changes: Integrated model. Journal of Medical Internet Research 22 (8).

    Google Scholar 

  • Allgaier, Joachim, and Anna Lydia Svalastog. (2015). The communication aspects of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Western Africa—do we need to counter one, two, or many epidemics? Croatian medical journal 56 (5): 496–9. doi:https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2015.56.496.

  • Allington, D., B. Duffy, S. Wessely, N. Dhavan, and J. Rubin. (2020). Health-protective behaviour, social media usage and conspiracy belief during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Psychological Medicine 1–7. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329172000224X.

  • Betsch, C., N.T. Brewer, P. Brocard, P. Davies, W. Gaissmaier, N. Haase, J. Leask, F. Renkewitz, B. Renner, and V.F. Reyna. 2012. Opportunities and challenges of web 2.0 for vaccination decisions. Vaccine 30 (25): 3727–3733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.02.025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buller, D.B., B. J. Walkosz, J. Berteletti, S.L. Pagoto, J. Bibeau, K. Baker, J. Hillhouse, and K.L. Henry. 2019. Insights on HPV vaccination in the united states from mothers’ comments on facebook posts in a randomized trial. Hum Vaccin Immunother 15 (7–8), 1479–87. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2019.1581555.

  • Callender, D. 2016. Vaccine hesitancy: More than a movement. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics 12 (9): 2464–2468. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2016.1178434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carrieri, V., L. Madio, and F. Principe. 2019. Vaccine hesitancy and (fake) news: Quasi-experimental evidence from Italy. Health Economics 28 (11): 1377–1382. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3937.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cauberghe, V., I. Van Wesenbeeck, S. De Jans, L. Hudders, and K. Ponnet. 2021. How adolescents use social media to cope with feelings of loneliness and anxiety during COVID-19 Lockdown. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking 24 (4): 250–257. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, T., and M. Dredze. 2018. Vaccine images on twitter: Analysis of what images are shared. Journal of Medical Internet Research 20 (4): e130. doi:https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.8221.

  • Chen, Q., C. Min, W. Zhang, G. Wang, X. Ma, and R. Evans. 2020. Unpacking the black box: How to promote citizen engagement through government social media during the COVID-19 crisis. Computers in Human Behavior 110: 106380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106380.

  • Cheung, C., Z.W.Y. Lee, and T.K.H. Chan. 2015. Self-disclosure in social networking sites: The role of perceived cost, perceived benefits and social influence. Internet Research 25 (2): 279–299. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-09-2013-0192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cinelli, M., W. Quattrociocchi, A. Galeazzi, et al. 2020. The COVID-19 social media infodemic. Science and Reports 10: 16598. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73510-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crabtree, M.A., and D.R. Pillow. 2018. Extending the dual factor model of facebook use: Social motives and network density predict facebook use through impression management and open self-disclosure. Personality and Individual Differences 133: 34–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Del Vicario, M., A. Bessi, F. Zollo, F. Petroni, A. Scala, G. Caldarelli, H.E. Stanley, and W. Quattrociocchi. 2016. The spreading of misinformation online. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences United States of America 113 (3): 554–559. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1517441113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devine, Daniel, et al. 2021. Trust and the coronavirus pandemic: What are the consequences of and for trust? An early review of the literature. Political Studies Review 19(2): 274–285. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929920948684.

  • Dubé, E., D. Gagnon, P. Clément, J.A. Bettinger, J.L. Comeau, S. Deeks, M. Guay, S. Mac Donald, N.E. Mac Donald, and H. Mijovic. 2019. Challenges and opportunities of school-based HPV vaccination in Canada. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics 15 (7–8): 1650–55. doi:10.1080/ 21645515.2018.1564440

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubey, B., and P. Dubey, Dubey. 2016. US. Role of media and treatment on an SIR model. NAMC 21(2): 185–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueiredo, A.D., C. Simas, E. Karafillakis, P. Paterson, and H.J. Larson. 2020. Mapping global trends in vaccine confidence and investigating barriers to vaccine uptake: A large-scale retrospective temporal modelling study. Lancet 396: 898–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fornell, C., and D.F. Larcker. 1981. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research 18: 39–50. [CrossRef]

    Google Scholar 

  • Freberg, K., M.J. Palenchar, and S.R. Veil. 2013. Managing and sharing H1N1 crisis information using social media bookmarking services. Public Relations Review 39 (3): 178–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrett, L. 2020. COVID-19: The medium is the message. Lancet 395: 942–943.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giese, H., H. Neth, M. Moussaïd, C. Betsch, and W. Gaissmaier. 2019. The echo in flu-vaccination echo chambers: Selective attention trumps social influence. Vaccine 38 (8): 2070–2076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.11.038.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gould, I.M., and A.M. Bal. 2013. New antibiotic agents in the pipeline and how they can overcome microbial resistance. Virulence 4 (2): 185–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo, B., Y. Ding, L. Yao, Y. Liang, and Z. Yu. 2019. The future of misinformation detection: new perspectives and trends. ACM Computer Survey 53. doi:1909.03654.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, S.N., D.C.S. Richard, and E.S. Kubany. 1995. Content validity in psychological assessment: A functional approach to concepts and methods. Pyschol Assess 7: 238–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.7.3.238[CrossRef].

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooi, R., and H. Cho. 2014. Avatar-driven self-disclosure: The virtual me is the actual me. Computers in Human Behavior 39: 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.06.019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Islam, M.S., T. Sarkar, S.H. Khan, A.H. Mostofa Kamal, S. Hasan, A. Kabir, D. Yeasmin, M.A. Islam, K.I. Amin Chowdhury, K.S. Anwar, A.A. Chughtai, and H. Seale. 2020. COVID-19-related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 103 (4): 1621–1629. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamhour, A., A. El-Kheir, P. Salameh, P.A. Hanna, and H. Mansour. 2017. Antibiotic knowledge and self-medication practices in a developing country: A cross-sectional study. American Journal of Infection Control 45 (4): 384–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A.M., Omer S.B., R.A. Bednarczyk, N.A. Halsey, L.H. Moulton, and D.A. Salmon. 2012. Parents’ source of vaccine information and impact on vaccine attitudes, beliefs, and nonmedical exemptions. Advances in Preventive Medicine 932741–48. doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/932741.

  • Kaiser, H.F. 1960. The application of electronic computers to factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement 20: 141–151. [CrossRef]

    Google Scholar 

  • Korda, H., and Z.H. Itani. 2013. Social media for health promotion and behavior change. Health Promotion Practice 14 (1): 15–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kortum, P., C. Edwards, and R. Richards-Kortum. 2008. The impact of inaccurate internet health information in a secondary school learning environment. Journal of Medical Internet Research 10 (2): e17. doi:10.2196/ jmir.986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kouri, P., M. Rissanen, P. Weber, and H. Park. 2017. Competences in social media use in the area of health and healthcare. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics 232: 183–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreps, S.E., and D.L. Kriner. 2020. Model uncertainty, political contestation, and public trust in science: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Science Advanves 6 (43): eabd4563. doi:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd4563.

  • Laranjo, L., A. Arguel, A.L. Neves, A.M. Gallagher, R. Kaplan, and N. Mortimer. 2015. The influence of social networking sites on health behavior change: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 22 (1): 243–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, L., Q. Zhang, X. Wang, J. Zhang, T. Wang, T.-L. Gao, W. Duan, K. Kam-fai Tsoi, and F.-Y. Wang. 2020. Characterizing the propagation of situational information in social media during COVID-19 epidemic: A case study on Weibo. IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems 7 (2): 556–562. https://doi.org/10.1109/TCSS.2020.2980007.

  • Limaye, R.J., M. Sauer, J. Ali, J. Bernstein, B. Wahl, A. Barnhill, and A. Labrique. 2020. Building trust while influencing online COVID-19 content in the social media world. Digital-Health 2 (6): 277-E278.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Z., Q. Min, Q. Zhai, and R. Smyth. 2016. Self-disclosure in Chinese micro-blogging: A social exchange theory perspective. Information and Management 53: 53–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, T., H. Shen, K.Y. Chau, and X. Wang. 2019. Measurement scale development and validation of female employees’ career expectations in Mainland China. Sustainability 11: 2932. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102932.

  • Llewellyn, S. 2020. Covid-19: How to be careful with trust and expertise on social media. BMJ. doi:110.1136/bmj.m1160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, M., C. Rahal, D. Brazel, J. Yan, and S. Gieysztor. 2020. COVID-19 vaccine deployment: Behaviour, ethics, misinformation and policy strategies. The Royal Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nabity-Grover, T., C. Cheung, and J.B. Thatcher. 2020. Inside out and outside in: How the COVID-19 pandemic affects self-disclosure on social media. International Journal of Information Management 55: 102188. Doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102188.

  • Nunnally, J.C. 1978. Psychometric Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Person, B., F. Sy, K. Holton, B. Govert, and A. Liang. 2004. NCID/SARS Community Outreach Team. Fear and stigma: The epidemic within the SARS outbreak. Emerging Infectious Diseases 10 (2): 358–363.https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1002.030750.

  • Puri, N., A. Eric, H.H. Coomes, and K. Gunaratne. 2020. Social media and vaccine hesitancy: New updates for the era of COVID-19 and globalized infectious diseases. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics 16 (11): 2586–2593. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2020.1780846.

  • Raykov, T., and G.A. Marcoulides. 2011. Introduction to Psychometric Theory. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, A.L., F. Zollo, M. Del Vicario, A. Bessi, A. Scala, G. Caldarelli, H.E. Stanley, and W. Quattrociocchi. 2017. Anatomy of news consumption on facebook. Proceedings of the National Academic Science United States of America 114 (12): 3035–3039. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1617052114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schriesheim, C.A., K.J. Powers, T.A. Scandura, C.C. Gardiner, and J. Lankau. 1993. Improving construct measurement in management research: Comments and a quantitative approach for assessing the theoretical content adequacy of paper-and-pencil survey-type instruments. Journal of Management 19: 385–417. [CrossRef]

    Google Scholar 

  • Shelby, A., and K. Ernst. 2013. Story and science. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics 9 (8): 1795–1801. https://doi.org/10.4161/hv.24828.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shu, C., and J. Schieber. 2020. Facebook, Reddit, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube issue joint statement on misinformation. TechCrunch. Accessed March 24, 2020. Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/16/facebook-reddit-google linkedin-microsoft-twitter-and-youtube-issue-joint-statement-onmisinformation/.

  • Song, C., and J. Lee. 2016. Citizens’ use of social media in government, perceived transparency, and trust in Government. Public Performance Management 39: 430–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spellberg, B., and D.N. Gilbert. 2014. The future of antibiotics and resistance: A tribute to a career of leadership by John Bartlett. Clinical Infectious Diseases 59 (2): S71–S75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, J.P. 1992. Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, K., K. Atkinson, and S. Deeks. 2014. Opportunities for utilizing new technologies to increase vaccine confidence. Expert Review of Vaccines 13 (8): 969–977. https://doi.org/10.1586/14760584.2014.928208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. 2019. Ebola Virus Disease—Democratic Republic of the Congo. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. Accessed August 8, 2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/csr/don/28-november-2019-ebola-drc/en/.

  • Yuan, X., R.J. Schuchard, and A.T. Crooks. 2019. Examining emergent communities and social bots within the polarized online vaccination debate in twitter. Social Media + Society 5 (3): 205630511986546. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119865465. Accessed on February 18, 2021. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management, Nagpur, India

    Amir Hafizullah Khan, Rijuta Joshi & Kimsy Gulhane

Authors
  1. Amir Hafizullah Khan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rijuta Joshi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kimsy Gulhane
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amir Hafizullah Khan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Rabi Narayan Subudhi

  2. School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Sumita Mishra

  3. School of Management, BGL, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Abu Saleh

  4. Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, PA, USA

    Dariush Khezrimotlagh

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Khan, A.H., Joshi, R., Gulhane, K. (2022). Social Media During the COVID-19 and Vaccine Hesitancy Among People. In: Subudhi, R.N., Mishra, S., Saleh, A., Khezrimotlagh, D. (eds) Future of Work and Business in Covid-19 Era. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0357-1_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation