Navigating the infodemic: a qualitative study of university students' information strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to study the strategies which university students developed for vetting information during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated infodemic. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 34 students, using a piloted topic guide which explored several areas of pandemic experiences, including students' use of media. Transcripts were analysed inductively following the thematic approach. Higher order themes were finalised following a coding exercise undertaken by two of the authors. Results: Participants were acutely aware of misinformation during the pandemic. They rated legacy news media (print and broadcast media with pre-Internet origins) higher than social media for reliable information about the pandemic. However, strikingly, not all legacy media were automatically trusted and not all social media were uniformly distrusted. Participants identified a set of mechanisms for establishing whether a piece of information was truthful and accurate. These mechanisms had four main focal points: (1) the source, (2) the message, (3) individual media literacy and (4) the trustworthiness of others. Despite possessing a critical awareness of misinformation, participants avoided posting anything in relation to the pandemic for fear of becoming the target of online abuse. Conclusions: In addition to underscoring the role of media literacy, our research foregrounds the need to attend to the importance of fostering media confidence. We define media confidence as the ability of digital media users to challenge and interrogate questionable or inaccurate information safe in the knowledge that there are adequate regulatory mechanisms in place to curb abuse, trolling and intimidation.