INFLUENCE OF COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN ON MEDIA USAGE IN NIGERIA
Abstract:The COVID-19 pandemic global lockdown caused
concerns about survival and made people turn to various communication media for
information about the virus. This study therefore investigated the extent to
which Nigerians used various media before and during the lockdown. The
population of the study were resident Nigerians from which 1,250 respondents
were selected by the random sampling. A 15-item Google Form was the research
instrument. Findings showed that the respondents read hardcopy newspapers and
or magazines occasionally before the lockdown while most of them did not read
newspapers and or magazines during the period. There were consistent uses of
social media, the Internet and online newspapers and or magazines in the
period. Finally, education, entertainment, information, motivation and
socializing constituted the most frequent needs to which the respondents
applied various media. The study therefore recommends that in media selection,
advertisers should note the most popular among the respondents.