TY  - JOUR
AU  - Tan, Edina YQ
AU  - Wee, Russell RE
AU  - Saw, Young Ern
AU  - Heng, Kylie JQ
AU  - Chin, Joseph WE
AU  - Tong, Eddie MW
AU  - Liu, Jean CJ
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/12/23
TI  - Tracking Private WhatsApp Discourse About COVID-19 in Singapore: Longitudinal Infodemiology Study
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e34218
VL  - 23
IS  - 12
KW  - social media
KW  - WhatsApp
KW  - infodemiology
KW  - misinformation
KW  - COVID-19
KW  - tracking
KW  - surveillance
KW  - app
KW  - longitudinal
KW  - Singapore
KW  - characteristic
KW  - usage
KW  - pattern
KW  - well-being
KW  - communication
KW  - risk
AB  - Background: Worldwide, social media traffic increased following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the spread of COVID-19 content has been described for several social media platforms (eg, Twitter and Facebook), little is known about how such content is spread via private messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp (WhatsApp LLC). Objective: In this study, we documented (1) how WhatsApp is used to transmit COVID-19 content, (2) the characteristics of WhatsApp users based on their usage patterns, and (3) how usage patterns link to COVID-19 concerns. Methods: We used the experience sampling method to track day-to-day WhatsApp usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. For 1 week, participants reported each day the extent to which they had received, forwarded, or discussed COVID-19 content. The final data set comprised 924 data points, which were collected from 151 participants. Results: During the weeklong monitoring process, most participants (143/151, 94.7%) reported at least 1 COVID-19–related use of WhatsApp. When a taxonomy was generated based on usage patterns, around 1 in 10 participants (21/151, 13.9%) were found to have received and shared a high volume of forwarded COVID-19 content, akin to super-spreaders identified on other social media platforms. Finally, those who engaged with more COVID-19 content in their personal chats were more likely to report having COVID-19–related thoughts throughout the day. Conclusions: Our findings provide a rare window into discourse on private messaging platforms. Such data can be used to inform risk communication strategies during the pandemic. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04367363; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04367363 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - https://www.jmir.org/2021/12/e34218
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/34218
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34881720
DO  - 10.2196/34218
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/34218
ER  -