“we need that same kind of attention focused on young adults, and have them as part of the solution,” says morris. “there’s nowhere in the world that’s figured out how to overcome the challenge of young adults being infected. so how do we learn from where others have failed?”
it’s not about shame
yammine
has an idea of how and what should be done, and where we can start.
“in terms of how to do it, it’s not using shame, but instead, using accountability,” she says. “we need to lead the conversation with empathy to incite a behavioural change. we know empathy is key if you’re really trying to engage and compel people.”
in terms of the what, yammine says giving harm reduction tips instead of simply pointing to accidents would help.
“instead of saying, ‘don’t do this, don’t go to parties, don’t do that,’ what can we do? w
hat are the things we can do to minimize risk, knowing that we’ll never have zero risk, because it’s just impossible,” she says.
lastly, yammine says where these messages are communicated is important.
“we need to be where young people are,” she says.
young adults aren’t watching cable news, the premier’s live press conferences, or following doctors on twitter, where a lot of crucial information is being shared. sharing information on social media platforms where young people are active, such as instagram and tiktok, would have better reach for important public health messaging. in fact, a recent study published in the international journal of adolescent medicine and health, researchers found tiktok was an untapped potential for conveying vital and educational covid-19 information.
looking at the #coronavirus hashtag, researchers found most videos touched on anxiety and quarantine, but there was little information on transmission and preventing infection. less
than 10 per cent of the videos mentioned how the virus is transmitted, symptoms of covid-19 and prevention of viral spread. none talked about death and death rates, viral incubation time, wearing a face mask or travel restrictions. the researchers say this platform is a missed opportunity for impressing important information on how to control covid-19 spread.
5 minute read
