Social media overwhelming amid Covid-19, NUIG study finds

According to the report, when people attribute a higher severity and susceptibility to Covid-19, they spend more time searching online for related symptoms.

It is a virus of a different kind: A study by NUI Galway has found people can feel overwhelmed by social media content, impairing their critical faculties and ultimately contributing to the spread of false information about Covid-19.

The study, carried out by the JE Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway, also looks at ‘cyberchondria’, defined as the unfounded escalation of concerns about common symptomology based on review of search results and literature online, often with counter-productive results.