The effect of the internet on community awareness of covid-19 in nigeria

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>Introduction</strong></p><p>According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the current global pandemic is the first known to emerge as the result of a novel coronavirus, identified as SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19. This respiratory disease is easily transmissible mainly from person to person, in droplet form, when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. It can also spread through contact with contaminated objects or surfaces. The symptoms associated with COVID-19 have ranged from very mild (including some cases with no reported symptoms) to severe or fatal. The fatality rate is still unclear as the pandemic unfolds, and there exist some variations across geographic regions and age groups.</p><p>The Internet has long been a connector beyond the physical. Now, it’s the only reason people are able to see their faraway loved ones and complete remote projects with their coworkers amid pandemic-prompted social distancing. Social media network sites are online platforms through which individuals, groups and organizations create presence and share information through texts, photos, music videos etc. The more worrisome aspect of the social media is its potency to be used to spread fake news with its significant negative effects on the society and on people’s decisions and behaviors. Fake news comes in various forms such as comedy for fun, however, a type of fake news which succeeds in convincing people of an untrue message is obviously quite worrisome.</p><p>The potentials of the libraries and its associates to acquire, evaluate, package, store and disseminate information, especially to the information poor society has placed a huge demand on it to intervene in critical situation such as COVID-19 pandemic era. Internet have long been recognized as powerful forces shaping how we experience the world and ourselves. This recognition is accompanied by a growing volume of research, that closely follows the footsteps of technological transformations (e.g. radio, movies, television, the internet, mobiles) and the zeitgeist (e.g. cold war, 9/11, climate change) in an attempt to map internet major impacts on how we perceive ourselves, both as individuals and citizens. The sensitization and awareness campaign were to sensitize the community on the cause of COVID-19, its symptoms, consequences and prevention methods. The internet particularly social media is used as a veritable instrument for creating the needed awareness and COVID-19 health education. Although some scholars argued that the use of social media is exclusively reserved for the educated. Government of Nigeria adopted internet institutions with other traditional means of mass mobilization to create proper awareness of COVID-19 among rural communities.</p><p><strong>Statement of the study</strong></p><p>Internet still able to convey a sense of unity reaching large audiences, or are messages lost in the noisy crowd of mass self-communication? Do internet provide solace or grounds for misinformation, (de)humanization, and discrimination? Can we harness the flexibility and ubiquity of media technologies to increase the public’s adherence to the safety measures suggested by global health organizations to combat the spread of COVID-19? How can internet channels for mass communication promote adaptive responses to foster positive health attitudes and adherence to preventive measures? How internet impact the awareness of covid19 to community.</p><p><strong>Objective of the study</strong></p><p>The objectives of the study are;</p><ol><li>To ascertain the role internet play in curbing the spread of coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria community</li><li>To ascertain if the internet campaign created a reasonable level of awareness of COVID-19 epidemic, causes, effects and prevention in Nigeria community</li><li>To ascertain the relationship between the internet and COVID19 sensitizing awareness</li></ol><p><strong>Research hypotheses</strong></p><p>The following have been put forward for testing</p><p><strong>H0:</strong>&nbsp;there is no role internet play in curbing the spread of coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria community</p><p><strong>H1 </strong>: &nbsp;there is role internet play in curbing the spread of coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria community.</p><p><strong>H0:</strong>&nbsp;there is no relationship between internet and COVID19 sensitizing awareness</p><p><strong>H1</strong>: there is relationship between internet and COVID19 sensitizing awareness</p><p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><p><strong>Significance of the study</strong></p><p><strong>&nbsp;</strong>This study will be very significant to students and the general public. The student will give a clear insight on the effect of the internet on community awareness of covid-19 in Nigeria. The study will also serve as a reference to other researcher that will embark on the related topic</p><p><strong>Scope and limitation of the study</strong></p><p>The scope of the study covers the effect of the internet on community awareness of covid-19 in Nigeria. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;</p><ol><li><strong>a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL:</strong>&nbsp;The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study</li><li><strong>b) TIME:</strong>&nbsp;The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.</li></ol><p><strong>1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS </strong></p><ul><li>Epidemic: a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.</li><li>Disease: a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal or plant especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.</li><li>Infectious: (of a disease or disease-causing organism) liable to be transmitted to people, organisms, etc. through the environment.</li><li>Internet: The Internet is a global wide area network that connects computer systems across the world. It includes several high-bandwidth data lines that comprise the Internet “backbone.” These lines are connected to major Internet hubs that distribute data to other locations, such as web servers and ISPs</li></ul> <br><p></p>