New poll suggests Thais get most of their news from social media or television

A recent Suan Dusit Poll suggests Thai people get most of their news about Covid from social media or television. The survey was conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University.

A total of 1,270 people were surveyed throughout the country from August 9 to August 12 to determine the public’s interest in “figures and statistics” associated with the Covid situation.

On the question of where they get this Covid related news, 71.84% of respondents replied they see it on TV. 70.49% got their news from social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Line. 56.49% responded that they refer to news websites. 45.17% said they get their news from friends/relatives/family members. 37.74% said they get their updates from the CCSA. The researchers did not comment on the fact that the given percentages exceed 100%.

On the topic of how much time they spend each day learning about the situation, 40.95% replied about 30 minutes. 31.98% said 1-2 hours. 13.73% said 2 to 5 hours. 13.34% said they spent an impressive 5 hours reading/learning about the Covid situation.

When asked what numbers they are most focused on, 92.33% said the numbers of infections/deaths. 65.96% answered the number of people who have been inoculated. 60.87% said the number of new infections and Covid sufferers who have recovered. Then 50.75% said they focus on the number of patients in serious condition and 48.14% said they zero-in on the number of available beds.

On the question of why they think statistics are important, 89.29% replied that statistics exemplified the trend of the severity of the pandemic. 85.25% said the statistics are a warning to stay cautious. 61.93% answered that the statistics help them comprehend the Covid situation better. 61.06% said that the statistics provided the total numbers of infections/deaths. Then, 46.23% said the statistics are important because they could serve as a plan as to how to deal with the Covid situation and “spending”.

When asked to what degree the Covid numbers worried them, 57.05% responded that they were moderately worried. 34.30% replied that they were very worried. 14.42% answered that they were “not particularly worried”. Finally, 4.23% said they were not worried at all.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post