The Preference of Social Networking Sites and Uncertainty Reduction Strategies Towards Information on COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract

At the end of 2019, the world showcased a lethal outbreak of COVID-19, which was announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic in March 2020. As this outbreak has spread worldwide, including in Malaysia, several alternatives were undertaken by the government to curb this spread including introduce a vaccination program for the community. This program is believed to make most of the community worried or uncertain since it is still newly introduced. In reducing people's worries and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 vaccination, searching for information via social networking sites (SNS) will likely reduce their uncertainty. This study aims to determine the most preferred SNS used by people of middle age to reduce uncertainty regarding information on COVID-19 vaccination. This study also aimed to identify the factors that contribute to middle-aged people's preferences for SNS to reduce their uncertainty about COVID-19 vaccination, as well as the uncertainty reduction strategies (URSs) used by middle-aged people over preferred SNS to reduce their level of uncertainty about COVID-19 vaccination. Uncertainty Reduction Theory was used as the underpinning theory for this study. This study employed a qualitative approach in which an in-depth e-interview was conducted over a Google Meet platform. The results showed that Facebook is the most preferred SNS the informants use to reduce uncertainty regarding COVID-19 vaccination. This study also found information authority to be the most important factor for SNS preference. Finally, the study also discovered that the passive strategy is the most commonly employed method used by informants to reduce information uncertainties regarding COVID-19 vaccination. Keywords: COVID-19, vaccination, social networking sites, Uncertainty Reduction Theory, information.