Media Functions during the Coronavirus Crisis
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a transmittable illness caused by the virus Corona. The illnesses started in China in the year 2019, and later spread to other parts of the world. It was declared a pandemic on March 11th this year by the WHO (World Health Organization, 2020). This is a respiratory illness that is communicable through saliva droplets and nose discharges. As such, people are advised to practice respiratory etiquette. For instance, since the diseases can be transmitted through coughing and sneezing people are required to cough and sneeze into their elbows. People are also advised to wear masks to curb the spread of the illnesses. This is one of the severe illnesses because no cure has been identified to date. However, potential treatments are now being evaluated on clinical trials. The severity of its symptoms differs in people with different demographic characteristics. For instance, older adults and people with other illnesses such as cancer and diabetes are more likely to experience severe symptoms.
Media plays a significant part in times of health crisis. It creates a direct connection between people and the organizations that are responsible for addressing a health crisis. It helps with the management of disasters in various ways. Among the strategies includes creating awareness about the health crisis. Apart from educating people, the media also helps by warning them against the dangers associated with the illnesses and their causes. The media also helps in times of health crisis by gathering and delivering information, especially regarding the affected areas. This helps in alerting the government and the responsible organizations (Dave, 2015). Various theories are used to explain the role of media in managing COVID-19. For this paper the theory that will be used to analyze the role of media will be Media Cultivation Theory, which focuses on repeated exposure of information.
Media Cultivation Theory
Media cultivation theory focuses on the long-term effects of media on viewers. It holds that repeated exposure to media is more likely to affects viewers’ perceptions of social reality. This theory was introduced by George Gerbner to explain how people beliefs and opinions are reflective of the messages that are commonly sent through mass media (Mosharafa, 2015). This theory is selected because of how well it matches the current strategies used by mass media in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. The heath information presented on the media about a health problem affects their ideas and thoughts about the illness. The nature of the COVID-19 crisis fits the strategies used by the media to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Currently, the media focuses on making the public see the seriousness of the health conditions and to change their behaviors. To achieve the required public behaviors, there is a need to change their attitude and beliefs. For instance, the media has been focusing on influencing the general beliefs about the seriousness of the illness, and to encourage them to adopt the hand-washing and social distancing behaviors. People need to believe that hand washing and social distancing will prevent the spread of the disease. They also need to believe that Coronavirus is a severe illness. To achieve this, there is a need to expose the public to such information repeatedly. This makes the Media Cultivation a relevant theory in addressing the health crisis.
According to Russell & Buhrau (2015), cultivation theory is highly applicable in addressing health crisis. This attributed to the fact that repeated exposure as advocated by the cultivation theory encourages internalization and development of values that are consistent with the ones presented on mass media. The authors assert that, there is a correlation between heavy viewing of Television and the behaviors of people in a society. For instance, heavy TV viewers are more likely to be influenced to believe that widespread behaviors portrayed on the media, such as alcohol consumption are the representation of the real world. Cultivation theory has in the past been applied to address health risks associated with fast-food consumption among teenagers. According to a study conducted by Russell and Buhrau, teenagers who are constantly exposed to TV campaigns against fast-foods, are more likely to avoid consuming more fast-foods, because they have been influenced to believe that high fast-food consumption is harmful to their health. Conversely, teenagers who are highly exposed to adverts that positively portray fast foods are more likely to consume for fast foods because they are less conscious of the negative impacts of fast foods to their health (Russell & Buhrau (2015). Media Cultivation theory has also been successful in addressing HIV pandemic. Apart from creating awareness of HIV, media cultivation theory has been applied to change people’s behaviors and beliefs on HIV. A study conducted by Xia0 et al. (2018) was used to assess the effectiveness of media cultivation theory addressing HIV issues among females in Beijing. In this study, females were repeatedly exposed to the media information on HIV prevention using a condom. The study outcome revealed that higher level of media exposure to messages about the importance of using condoms in preventing HIV affected the health behaviors and attitude of the females. For instance, after the high exposure, the study outcome showed that there was a higher level of condom usage among the study participants. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of applying the Media Cultivation theory in health promotion.
Currently, the Media Cultivation Theory is being applied to address the Coronavirus crisis. Among the strategies used in preventing the spread of coronavirus social distancing which had encouraged people’s isolation from each other (WHO, 2020). As such, people are relying on the media for sense of connection and source of information regarding the virus, and the number of affected individuals. In relation to the Coronavirus pandemic, the media has not only been valuable in created awareness, but it has also helped encouraging people to adopt behaviors that will prevent the spread of the disease. People are not used to behaviors such as wearing masks, social distancing, and not touching one’s nose and eyes. This implies that for successful prevention of the spread of COVID-19, there has been a need to persuade people to embrace the behaviors. The media application of cultivation theory has been helpful in achieving such behavioral changes. Some people are not prepared and willing to change their behaviors, and in some instances, the police have been forced to intervene. To persuade the public, the media cultivation theory is necessary. For example, the media has repeatedly positively portrayed isolation. An example of this is how the media frequently informs people to isolation is not a bad thing, and that in some such times, people can have more time for their families. The media has also been repeatedly sending a message that during isolation people can have time for something they might not otherwise do. An example of this is reading and indoor exercises. This has positively encouraged people to adopt the isolation and social distancing behaviors that prevent the spread of the illness (Henriques, 2020).
Media Cultivation theory has been helpful in addressing resistance to practices that reduce the spread of COVID -19 (Roy, 2020). In the fight against COVID-19, there has been resistance, to hand-washing practices and social distancing because people view these practices as banal. During this digital era, apart from TV, the news about ways of preventing the spread of the disease has been repeatedly shown on social media. The central focus has not only been education the population but also changing people’s perception of the required behaviors. For instance, after the disease was declared a pandemic on March 11th, the new about Coronavirus was dominant of social media. In the US, for example, about 20 million social media users shared the news about Coronavirus and ways of preventing without a few hours after the announcement. The news was shared on social media using the trending hashtag “safehandschallenge” that was initiated by the World Health Organization. This strategy was useful since it helps in changing people’s beliefs and attitude about hand-washing and social distancing. In this media promotion, Celebrities such as Selena Gomez used to repeatedly inform the audience and change their behaviors (Roy, 2020). Cultivation theory worked bets on social media since many people are exposed to it, and they spend more time on it. Cultivation theory focuses on changing perceptions based on the level exposure (Signorielli, 2020). In the current digital world, where many people are addicted to social media, the media theory is highly applicable in controlling the spread of Coronavirus.
Cultivation theory was also used to show the seriousness of the diseases. The news about Coronavirus and the high rate of new infections have been continuously shown on mass media. Before the spread of the new, people were not very cautious about it because they did not believe the illness was very serious. The continuous news on the media on how the disease is spreading faster has influenced people to be more cautious, encouraging them to follow the instructions given by the health organizations (Powell, 2020). The many social media campaigns have also repeatedly exposed people to the information regarding the importance of wearing masks. The news about the importance of wearing masks and the new designs of masks have gone viral on the media influencing people to acquire a positive attitude towards wearing a mask as a measure for preventing the spread of COVID-19 (Betuel, 2020).
Criticism
While media has been helpful in helping the government and health organizations spread the new of COVID-19 and strategies for preventing its spread, its negative sides during the health crisis have also been seen. For instance, the media has been a source for fake news. An example of the fake information spread on social media was about the Chinese government killing the people infected with COVID-19 (Pazzanese, 2020). Even though many social media platforms banned the spread of this information later, the news had already spread in many parts of the world.
In times of such crisis, the misinformation spread by media gives health organization a difficult time in addressing the crisis. It may lead to a faster spread of an illness if the fake news is not addressed well. An example of this was anti-Vax movements which caused a quicker increase in the number of people infected with measles globally (Pazzanese, 2020). Fake news on the media can also cause fear and panic among the population.
Conclusively, it times of health crisis, the spread of information is vital. Media plays an essential part in spreading information about the health crisis. This is especially true during this time when people are expected to isolate themselves, and media is the primary source of information. Through repeated exposure of information about a diseases outbreak, the public develops attitude and behaviors that are required to prevent the spread of the disease. In addressing the spread of COVID-19, media has been helpful not only on creating awareness but also persuading people to adopt preventive measures. However, the media has also has a role in the spread of false information, interfering with the efforts of the health organizations in the fight against the illness. The fake news is also responsible for causing fear and panic among people. As such, there is a need to regulate the type of information that is to be shared on mass media using relevant policies.
References
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