Medical Xpress November 10, 2021
The 24-hour news cycle and social media bombardment often resulting in conflicting messages about health issues might be making it harder than ever for people to make critical decisions, according to a Rutgers-led study.
The study, published in Journal of Behavioral Medicine, examined how contradictory health information impacts responses to new information and feelings toward the recommendations and experts providing them.
“People are regularly expected to interpret complex health recommendations, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said lead author Patrick Barnwell, a graduate student at Rutgers-New Brunswick. “Conflicting health-related recommendations are increasingly common due to the speed at which 24-hour news cycles and social media can spread information.”
According to the study, conflicting information can be two or...
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