Disconnected in a pandemic: COVID-19 outcomes and the digital divide in the United States.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Li F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9283607 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Disconnected in a pandemic: COVID-19 outcomes and the digital divide in the United States.
Health & place 20220715
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities related to the digital divide. With wide adoption of remote working and learning, telehealth, and virtual events and social activities, the technology have-nots and know-nots experienced substantial marginalization and elevated risks of COVID-19 exposure in daily lives. This study discusses the pathways through which digital exclusion could aggravate the impacts of the pandemic and explored the linkage between digital access and COVID-19 outcome ...[more]
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Project description:Despite calls for political consensus, there is growing evidence that the public response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been politicized in the US. We examined the extent to which this polarization exists among the US public across two national studies. In a representative US sample (N = 699, March 2020) we find that liberals (compared to conservatives) perceive higher risk, place less trust in politicians to handle the pandemic, are more trusting of medical experts such as the WHO, and are more critical of the government response. We replicate these results in a second, pre-registered study (N = 1000; April 2020), and find that results are similar when considering partisanship, rather than political ideology. In both studies we also find evidence that political polarization extends beyond attitudes, with liberals consistently reporting engaging in a significantly greater number of health protective behaviors (e.g., wearing face masks) than conservatives. We discuss the possible drivers of polarization on COVID-19 attitudes and behaviors, and reiterate the need for fostering bipartisan consensus to effectively address and manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
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