Health Anxiety, Information Anxiety, and Internet Self-Efficacy on Cyberchondria among Filipino Young Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The mobility restrictions due to COVID-19 lockdown impositions have forced people to stay at home in lieu of face-to-face activities. In effect, it has increased people's exposure to the Internet and its perils, brought by excessive information from different media that may lead to the development of health-related anxiety. This phenomenon is known as cyberchondria, where people may have experienced extreme anxiety about their physical health because of repeated internet searches concerning their medical conditions. This paper investigates the possible relationship between health anxiety, information anxiety, and computer self-efficacy toward cyberchondria. Data from a cross-sectional method using online surveys among fresh graduates aged 21-24 in several Philippine higher education institutions were analyzed. The results of the structural model test reveal that both health anxiety and information anxiety may contribute to cyberchondria. The study discusses the implication of the results and offers fruitful research directions for further studies. © ICCE 2022.All rights reserved.

Loneliness, boredom and information anxiety on problematic use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 is a global health concern with emerging economies expected to endure lasting effects. Massive information in social media while beneficial for some is perceived to have caused unnecessary anxiety for others. Although research on technological factors and their relationships to social media adoption is well documented, limited studies explored the psychology behind problematic use of social media especially during a health crisis. Analyzing survey responses from 257 participants, we tested the influence of loneliness, boredom and information anxiety on the problematic use of social media during the COVID-19 health crisis. Structural regression analysis supported prior literature that boredom and anxiety positively influence the escalation of problematic social media use. Although previous findings support the influence of loneliness on problematic social media use, this cannot be supported within the context of this study. We conclude this paper by discussing the implications of our study to informal education while highlighting the limitations of the study to provide directions for future scholarly endeavors. Copyright © 2020 Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education.

Peer influence, risk propensity and fear of missing out in sharing misinformation on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic

Widespread misinformation on social media is high, and this is made worse during a public health crisis. While literature on technological solutions to combat misinformation abounds, limited studies have investigated the psychology behind why misinformation is in rapid diffusion in this digital platform. Using a sample of 209 students, we tested the relationships of peer influence, risk propensity and fear of missing out on the behavioral intention to share misinformation on Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of the results supported prior literature that peer influence and fear of missing out has a positive influence on the behavioral intention to share misinformation on social media. While risk propensity has a positive influence on sharing misinformation, this cannot be supported at a significant level. We conclude this paper by discussing the implications of our study to academic policies on formal and informal disaster education while highlighting the limitations of the study to provide directions for future scholarly endeavors. © ICCE 2020 - 28th International Conference on Computers in Education, Proceedings. All rights reserved.