Exposure to Covid-19 Message Contents and Public Attitude towards Obeying Social Distancing Policy

Abstract

Message content is crucial part of information dissemination that people use in communication and interaction. Making the message content delivered via mass media and new media concerning social live improvement, including health issues, more varied could be a preventive course during a pandemic. Health-related message concerning the prevention of Covid-19 spread is public basic right, i.e. to get safety and guarantee from the government. Such message could be used as a guideline to face the new normal lifestyle. This study aims to discover the extent of correlation between Covid-19-related message contents and public attitude towards conforming to social distancing policies, using Cognitive- Response Theory. This study employed correlational quantitative method on 384 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaires, observation, interviews, and literature study. Questionnaires were administered online via a link made on Google Form to Bandung City residents. The findings showed that the contents of messages on Covid19 had significant correlation with public attitude in general. This study concluded that there is a correlation between the content of Covid-19-related messages and public attitudes towards conforming with social distancing policies. In other words, the more exposure to Covid- 19-related information the people get, the better their attitude towards practicing social distancing. The authors recommend that information on Covid-19 should be delivered in more interesting ways and in real time so that the public would believe it and would be more willing to perform necessary health protocols.