INFODEMIC: SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL VECTORS OF REDUCING INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Abstract

Purpose. The relevance of the problem stated in the article drives from the fact that infodemic totallyinfluences all areas of human activity. Media (іncluding social media) are considered to be one of the mostimportant factors in the process of creating and distributing infodemic narratives – both in an intentional or a nonintentionalway. This study aims to investigate how media influences an informative adaptation of a personalityduring spread of coronavirus infection, to develop recommendations for protection and counteraction againstinformation superfluity. The scientific novelty of the study consists in assessment of the peculiarities of mediaperception by people of different ages and employed in different areas of professional activity.Methods. The study, organized as a quasi-experiment with unbounded samples, was undertaken intwo steps, the first of which was in March 2020, and the second – in April 2021. Variables were measuredwith an extended Likert scale to assess different aspects of media flow. Sample populations were formed by using an online survey (namely, “respondent-driven sampling”) in compliance with procedures ensuringrepresentativeness. The focus of the results interpretation was on socially determined vectors of changes inassessment of media flow.Results. Two vectors have been singled out to explain changes in assessment of media flow underinfodemic circumstances. The first of them is mediated by age characteristics, while the second is mediatedby a field of professional activity. The first vector – desensitization – acts in the direction of loss of noveltyand attractiveness of information related to the pandemic. The second vector – pragmatism – is determined bythe usefulness of information for the organization of professional activity.Conclusions. Media played a crucial role in making people connected in spite of isolation, providinginformation regarding both the precautions, disease statistics, safety measures as well as health-threateningmisinformation, rumors and fake news. It is necessary to advocate an increasing responsibility of mediatowards their target audiences for publishing fake news; deeper fact-checking of information that could bea threat to society.