Conceptualizing COVID-19 and Public Panic with the Moderating Role of Media Use and Uncertainty in China: An Empirical Framework

Abstract

Uncertainty puts people in a binary state of mind, where every piece of external information can positively or negatively affect their state of health. Given the uncertain situation created by the new coronavirus pandemic, this study claims to be the first empirical analysis of the real-time status of public panic in China. It frames peoples’ intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, creating a psychosocial analysis of public panic. We conducted an online survey of WeChat and QQ users in February 2020 and collected 1613 samples through a QR code questionnaire. We used the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression equation model to conceptualize public panic pathways in different gender and age groups. This underlines the psychological origins of fear and anxiety and points out how the media uses socially constructed public panic. The results show that the outbreak of COVID-19 created uncertainty among the public, and the official media intensified it because of the late dissemination of news about the outbreak’s real-time status. Hence, unofficial media remained faster in news reporting, but the news reporting remained contradictory with official reports. This created doubts about the authenticity of the given information and caused public mental health abnormalities. The study provides a conceptual framework based on lessons learned from physiology, psychology, and social psychology and real-time public analysis to inform policymakers and public administrators about the contextual dynamics of public panic in China. It provides useful insights into the wise handling of this uncertain time and controlling the fatal conditions of public panic created by COVID-19. It has implications for other countries as well.

The Relationship Between the Duration of Attention to Pandemic News and Depression During the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019: The Roles of Risk Perception and Future Time Perspective

“…In this study, we found that there was a significant positive correlation between the duration of attention to pandemic news and depression. Xu and Sattar ( 2020 ) also found that there was a positive correlation between pandemic information from media and panic, which indicates that the news of the pandemic has an important impact on individuals' physical and mental health. During the pandemic, the public generated a lot of negative emotions, such as panic and depression.…”

“…On the other hand, in the early stages of the pandemic, many contradictory news in the media led people to doubt the valid information. They also even doubted the official data because of the prevailing rumors (Xu and Sattar, 2020 ). Therefore, surrounded by various pandemic news, it is difficult for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance.…”

“…Therefore, surrounded by various pandemic news, it is difficult for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance. With individuals getting more news about the pandemic, they still cannot accurately understand the epidemic itself, its consequences, and its prevention and control, which lead them to feel uncertainty (Xu and Sattar, 2020 ). Uncertainty, as we all know, is one of the important factors that lead to depression (Swallow and Kuiper, 1992 ).…”

Study on the Experience of Public Health System Construction in China's COVID-19 Prevention

“…Moreover, untimely information disclosure increased people's panic about COVID-19 and brought psychological harm to people. Especially for employees, untimely information disclosure reduced the time for them to adjust their work plans, causing some employees to lose their work income and face the risk of falling into poverty ( 43 ). Furthermore, untimely information disclosure reduces people's trust in the Chinese government and public health system, which brings difficulties to the implementation of follow-up COVID-19 prevention work.…”

The qualitative analysis of characteristic of callers to a psychological hotline at the early stage of COVID-19 in China

“…We found that among people with emotional distress, the second most common emotion is fear. After the outbreak, the rising number of confirmed cases, news reports, and various unrecognizable social media information continued to increase, which will undoubtedly intensify the social panic [ 26 ]. Due to the shortage of medical supplies for households and daily necessities, supermarkets, pharmacies, and other stores were quickly sold out, which further exacerbated people’s panic [ 27 ].…”