Influence of fake news on older adults
Palabras clave:
Voice messages, fake news, mental health, older adultsResumen
Motivated by researching the influence of voice messages with fake news, on the mental health of Manta's older adults in the context of COVID-19, the goal of this study was to determine that sharing fake news can alter people's thoughts. This means that the content of such messages can affect the mental health of this age group. The study was conducted with an exploratory-descriptive qualitative-quantitative approach. The selection of informants was fulfilled through the finite proportion formula with a margin of error of 0.5. A virtual survey of 281 older adults across the city was conducted and 3 journalism professionals were interviewed to calculate the risk to which this population group is exposed in the context of the pandemic. Fake news from voice messages was found to generate emotions of anguish and insecurity in 75.4% of respondents, but feelings of uncertainty, confusion, mistrust, and suspicion also emerge. Recommendations are proposed to avoid sharing news of dubious content and verifying in reliable sources.
Keywords: Voice messages, fake news, mental health, older adults.
RESUMEN:
Motivados por investigar sobre la influencia de los mensajes de voz con noticias falsas, en la salud mental de los adultos mayores de Manta en el contexto del COVID-19, el objetivo de este estudio fue determinar que compartir noticias falsas puede alterar los pensamientos de las personas. Esto quiere decir que el contenido de dichos mensajes puede afectar la salud mental de este grupo etario. El estudio fue realizado con un enfoque cualitativo-cuantitativo de tipo exploratorio-descriptivo. La selección de los informantes se cumplió a través de la fórmula de proporción finita con un margen de error del 0.5. Se realizó una encuesta virtual a 281 adultos mayores en toda la ciudad y fueron entrevistados 3 profesionales del periodismo, para calcular el riesgo al que está expuesto este grupo poblacional en el contexto de la pandemia. Se halló que las noticias falsas provenientes de los mensajes de voz generan emociones de angustia e inseguridad en el 75,4% de los encuestados, pero también emergen sentimientos de incertidumbre, confusión, desconfianza y recelo. Se proponen recomendaciones para evitar compartir noticias de dudoso contenido y verificar en fuentes confiables.
Palabras clave: Mensajes de voz, noticias falsas, salud mental, adultos mayores.
Recibido: 28 de septiembre de 2020; Aceptado: 04 de enero de 2021; Publicado: 08 de enero de 2021.
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