Covid-19 and the Resurgence of the Hypodermic Needle Theory Applicability in Times of Crises

Abstract

AbstractThis study explored the continued applicability and relevance of Hypodermic Needle Theory, also named the Magic Bullet Theory. It used a quantitative research method using a survey tool designed to investigate a sample of citizens in Jordan in reference to their attitudes and behaviours of using both social media and traditional media during the Covid-19 pandemic. Regardless of all the criticism around the simplicity of the bullet theory and its assumption of an all-passive audience when it comes to receiving media messages, this research tests its applicability and relevance in times of pandemics and crises. The study found that Hypodermic Needle Theory remains of a much relevance to assess citizens behaviours during times of pandemics and crisis such as Covid-19. The study revealed that social media was more followed by the study sample during the pandemic to seek information. The perceived media effects were also higher for social media (M = 3.52) in comparison to traditional official media (M = 2.92). The study hypotheses shown no significant differences between males and females regarding their level of following Covid-19 topics and content which means they both follow it equally. Likewise, the study revealed no significant differences between the participants’ age, education level and place of residence in relation to their following of Covid-19 over both social media and traditional media and its effects on the participants. Therefore, this study justifies the continued relevance of the bullet theory in times of crises such as Covid-19. These results also provide a stepping-stone for future empirical research in which investigates more on the effects of the media messages on audiences taking into account the scale of both information and misinformation online in times of crises.KeywordsCovid-19Hypodermic needle theoryMagic bullet theoryTraditional mediaSocial media