A teacher in quarantine gear checks students’ temperatures at a high school in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province, on Dec. 3, 2020, before the nationwide college entrance exam begins. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent study revealed that more exposure to media reports about the coronavirus only exacerbates the stereotypes, fear, and anxiety over infection.
A research team from Chonnam National University Hospital conducted a survey of 1,500 men and women to measure how much they depend on media reports to gain information about the coronavirus.
They also measure the participant’s actual knowledge about the coronavirus based on official literature published by the Central Disease Control Headquarters.
The research team also conducted a generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) assessment to measure the level of anxiety among participants.
The results showed that participants with more knowledge about the coronavirus tended to be less anxious, afraid and stereotyped.
Information gained from media reports, however, failed to increase actual knowledge about the coronavirus.
The research team claimed that media reports fail to deliver facts about the coronavirus, only inciting stereotypes, fear, and anxiety over the pandemic.
“Media reports these days tend to scare the public by focusing on the number of infections only,” said Prof. Kim Sung-wan, who spearheaded the research.
“While the numbers are important, the media and healthcare workers should work together to cut down on media reports that only seem to cause unnecessary anxiety.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
