Perceptions of using infographics for scientific communication on social media for COVID-19 topics: a survey study

Abstract

Navigating for accurate information, especially health- and science-related content, on social media has been challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although infographics are a popular medium for simplifying text-based information into visual components, their usefulness during a global health crisis has not been explored. The study aims to explore the perceptions of infographics in conveying scientific information related to COVID-19 on social media. Following a social media campaign that published COVID-19 related infographics from May to August 2020, a cross-sectional survey was administered to social media users, primarily students from Western University. Several questions asked respondents to make comparisons with written articles when reporting their perceptions of infographics. Seventy-three percent of students from 361 responses belonged to health-related academic backgrounds. Seventy-two percent felt more likely to share infographics than written articles on social media due to the visual appeal. Nearly 90% felt it was easier to navigate through complicated science and that more scientists should use infographics on social media. Educational background did not influence the perceived usefulness of infographics in understanding scientific information. Infographics are perceived favourably in conveying scientific information about COVID-19 on social media. Findings from this study can inform communication strategies during a pandemic and, more broadly, global crises.

Keywords:

• Infographic
• infodemic
• COVID-19
• social media
• scientific communication
• visual design

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Correction

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Vicky Chang, Andy Dai and Will Honcharuk for their assistance in conducting this research study. We thank the team of ‘Staying Current on COVID-19’ for their assistance in creating and reviewing the infographics. We thank Ashish Nambiar, David Wu, Jessie Song and Renee-Gabrielle Fajardo for their assistance in preparing the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data sets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17453054.2022.2069714)

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from TakingITGlobal (TIG), Canada Service Corps and the Government of Canada.