Abstract
COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic since March 2020.
Pakistan has become the 20th most-affected country from the
virus by May 2020. The only perfect cure from the virus is to take
preventive measures from getting affected. Dissemination and
exchange of information play a significant role in letting the
public know about those measures. This study attempts to explore
how social media exposure could influence the adoption of
preventive measures by taking into account the roles of selfrelevant emotions, belief on conspiracy beliefs, and trust in the
measures taken by the government. The sample (n=378) was
collected from public and private universities (two each) of
Pakistan. Hierarchal regression was used to measure the
relationship between the variables. The results showed that selfrelevant emotions have been triggered from the information
available on social media which further enhanced the adoption of
preventive measures. Also, trust in government is an important
factor in deciding whether the preventive measures would be
taken or not. The findings also suggest that the conspiracy beliefs
related to COVID-19 are a significant predictor of less preventive
behaviors among the public. Practical implications of self-relevant
emotions and trust in government have also been discussed
regarding the public health crisis.
Muhammad Awais, Farahat Ali. (2021) Social Media Exposure and Preventive Behaviors against COVID-19 in Pakistan, Journal of Media Studies, Volume-36, Issue-1.
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