The Impact of Social Media Usage on Students’ Fear during COVID-19: A Study of Postgraduate Students in Pakistan

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of social media usage on students’ fear during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a cross-sectional survey approach, a closed-ended questionnaire was administered as a data collection tool among 600 students of 10 public and private sector universities in Pakistan and 438 responses were received. It was found that the respondents’ believed that uploading more information on social media about COVID-19 had spread fear and panic among the students. It was also found males had a high level of psychological fear and physical fears as compared to female respondents. Respondents between the age group of 31 years or more had more psychological fear, followed by respondents between the age group of 24-30 years. However, those whose age was between 18-23 years had fewer psychological fears. The findings of this study could contribute to the body of knowledge on the subject matters. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Hospital Librarianship is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)