午夜剧场

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every sector of society and completely changed our lives. Researchers are also working to analyze the various problems brought about by the pandemic and their social impacts from their respective fields of expertise. From the perspective of media psychology, I am also researching news coverage regarding the pandemic, risk communication by the government and local municipalities, and people's information behavior.

Among these topics, I am particularly interested in the impact that COVID-related information has on the younger generation. From the early stages of the pandemic, it was pointed out that many young people had mild or no symptoms, and there was a possibility they could unknowingly infect others. Under the state of emergency, some young people who did not practice self-restraint were criticized in the media, and they were also frequently singled out for criticism by the government. Despite the fact that many young people were practicing self-restraint, many questioned the criticism directed at the younger generation as a whole. Due to "COVID fatigue," the information behavior of the younger generation is also changing.

In mid-February of this year, during the second state of emergency, I had the opportunity to conduct a web survey targeting people in their 20s as part of the "Risk Society and Media" project at KGRI (午夜剧场 Global Research Institute). The crisis awareness among the younger generation was quite high, including risk perception regarding COVID-19 and the risk of infecting others, and many were practicing self-restraint. On the other hand, their self-evaluation of health literacy—the ability to understand, evaluate, and utilize information regarding infectious diseases—was not high. They felt overwhelmed by the repeated COVID-related news coverage, and a tendency to avoid information was also observed. Needless to say, information avoidance has the potential to hinder coping behaviors against infectious diseases.

Another point of concern is the opinion among the younger generation that the appeals from the government, local municipalities, and the media regarding infectious diseases do not resonate with them. While the younger generation is excessively blamed in politics and news coverage, many voices were heard stating that the perspectives of young people are not reflected in the responses of the government and local municipalities. In Japan's super-aging society, the negative effects of "silver democracy" have been pointed out, and there are concerns about the deepening generational divide caused by COVID-19. In the long battle against COVID-19, I feel that planned communication based on an understanding of the actual situation of the younger generation, who will lead the post-COVID society, is necessary.