Use of Social Networking Sites by Karnatakites for Finding Information Regarding COVID-19 - An Investigation

The focus of this paper is to study the usage of social networking sites by the Karnatakites for finding information regarding COVID-19. A web survey was distributed among the targeted participants to collect data for the study. The study findings reported that cent per cent of the participants were users of social networking sites in which WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook were the most used SNSs for finding information regarding the COVID-19. The respondents used SNSs mainly to search for information regarding the status of COVID-19 in India as well as at the global level. Most of the respondents (48.8%) agreed that the information available on SNSs regarding COVID-19was informative and up to date. The study also reported that the majority of respondents found the use of social networking sites satisfactory in finding vital information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is the first of its kind to explore the use of SNSs among the Karnatakites for finding information regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings of the study, of course, give proper insights to the digital natives and netizens for using SNSs as information resources, especially during such critical pandemic disease outbreaks