74% people dependent on traditional media for info on COVID-19: Survey

New Delhi, March 30 About 74 per cent of people are dependent on traditional media for any updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has affected 1,071 people across the country, a survey revealed.

The net outcome came out in a second survey conducted by IANS C-VOTER Gallup International Association Corona Tracker conducted on March 26 and 27.

In the poll, a question — On what sources are you dependent for corona related information — was put forth before Indians during the last one week.

According to the survey, a whopping 74.1 per cent people were dependent on the traditional media for information related to COVID-19 while 18.5 per cent people were dependent on social media for the information. And only 5.2 per cent people were dependent on community info.

The survey highlighted that 67.9 per cent people were dependent on television for information on COVID-19 while only 6.2 per cent people were dependent on newspapers.

Following the 21-day nationwide lockdown to stop the transmission of COVID-19, the delivery of newspapers has been badly hit.

The survey report also highlighted that 5.1 per cent received updates on COVID-19 from WhatsApp while 4 per cent received the information regarding the pandemic from Facebook. It said 9.4 per cent were people were dependent on other social media platforms.

The report also pointed out that only 2.7 per cent people were dependent on local administration for the information on the pandemic and 2.5 per cent were dependent on friends and family members for the updates.

In the survey, 2.3 per cent people voted for that they cannot say or don’t know.

On Monday, the total number of COVID-19 patients in India rose to 1071 with 29 deaths across the country.