ArticleHeliyon2020
The role of social media in spreading panic among primary and secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: An online questionnaire study from the Gaza Strip, Palestine.
Article in Heliyon, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 110 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on child and adolescent mental health: systematic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- COVID-19 news consumption and distress in young people: A systematic review.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Pooled it
- The Relationships among Anxiety, Subjective Well-Being, Media Consumption, and Safety-Seeking Behaviors during the COVID-19 Epidemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Psychological distress among healthcare providers during COVID-19 in Asia: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- High frequency and duration of social media exposure during the COVID- 19 pandemic are associated with mental health problems among employees at an Egyptian university.The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association · 2025Article
- The spread of fake news: Disclosure willingness role.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Sociocultural adjustment and social support as predictors for international medical sciences students' anxiety during COVID-19.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Article
- COVID-19's myths, facts, concerning and obstinate posts on social network, and the mental health status of social network users in Bangladesh.PLOS mental health · 2024Article
- Mixed-methods study of university students' perceptions of COVID-19 and media consumption from March 2020 -April 2022.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Effects of the Fear of COVID-19 and Efficacy of Coping Behavior for Infectious Diseases after the End of COVID-19: Moderating Effects of Cyberchondria and eHealth Literacy.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Concerns, perceived risk, and hesitancy on COVID-19 vaccine: a qualitative exploration among university students living in the West Bank.Epidemiology and infection · 2023Article
- Impact of Social Media Use on Mental Health within Adolescent and Student Populations during COVID-19 Pandemic: Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Pre- and Post-Pandemic (COVID-19) Mental Health of International Students: Data from a Longitudinal Study.Psychology research and behavior management · 2023Article
- Factors affecting COVID-19's mental health impact on college students in the southeastern United States.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Impact of social media on mental health of the general population during Covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review.Journal of education and health promotion · 2023Review
- Explaining the factors affecting women's life during COVID-19 lockdown: A qualitative study among women in Southern Iran.Health science reports · 2022Article
- Anxiety levels among Palestinian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.Journal of public health research · 2022Article
- Social media use, and fear of COVID-19 among Ghanaian university students: the moderating role of gender.BMC psychology · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe rapid outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has opened up various issues on social media platforms among school students. The dangerous issue is that misinformation, fake news, and rumours spread on social media faster than reliable information, and also faster than the virus itself, damaging the health systems and affecting the mental health of social media users.
objectiveThe current study aims at determining how social media affects the spread of panic about COVID-19 among primary and secondary school students in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.
methodsThe data were collected through an online questionnaire. By utilizing convenience sampling, we have reached a total of 1067 school students, aged between 6 and 18 years, from 56 schools located in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Independent Samples T-test, ANOVA, and chi-square tests were used to compare the data.
resultsThe results showed that social media has a significant impact on spreading panic about COVID-19 among school students, with a potential negative impact on their mental health and psychological well-being. Facebook was the most common social media platform among students (81.8%), where female students had a higher likelihood than male students to use it to get news about COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Health news was the most frequently topic seen, read, or heard (n = 529, 56.2%) during the COVID-19 pandemic, where males were more likely to follow health news than females (p < 0.001). The majority of the students (n = 736, 78.1%) were psychologically affected, whereas those physically affected were the lowest (n = 12, 1.3%). Female students were psychologically affected and experienced greater fear significantly more than male students (p < 0.001). The effect of social media panic depending on a student's age and gender. (p < 0.001). This study showed a significant positive correlation between social media and spreading panic about COVID-19 (R = 0.891).
conclusionsDuring the closure of schools, students are using social media to continue their learning as well as to know more information about the COVID-19 outbreak. Social media has a main role in rapidly spreading of panic about the COVID-19 pandemic among students in the Gaza Strip.
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