INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES ON THE KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE TO COVID-19 GUIDELINES AND PROTOCOLS BY MOUNTAIN TOP UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Social media is a convenient way to keep up with the large amount of information available on coronavirus and this information has the capability to affect people’s emotions and as a result impact their behaviour. Individuals may change their unhealthy behaviours if they are aware of the messages that are harmful to their health. This research work examined the influence of social media messages and their influence on the knowledge, perception and attitude of MTU students towards the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted the survey method and questionnaire was used to collect data from 310 respondents who were randomly sampled. The collected data were analysed and results presented using Tables, frequency and percentage. Findings from the study revealed that; Social media messages influence student’s attitude positively towards adopting COVID-19 guidelines and protocols, WhatsApp and Facebook are the social media platforms mostly used to receive COVID-19 messages, Subjective Norms has a substantial influence on student’s attitude towards Social media messages on COVID-19 and Students showed a high knowledge level about COVID-19. The study concludes that social media is a vital tool for disseminating health messages and shaping public attitude. The study recommended that COVID-19 messages should be sustained on various social media platforms to prevent students from neglecting the COVID-19 preventive measures they have acquired overtime