YouTube as a Source of Information on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health of Children
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Date
2022
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Abstract
Objectives: World Health Organization has announced that the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is a pandemic that causes worry and panic in anyone who is exposed to the virus’s actual or imagined threat. Our lifestyles and life patterns have radically changed, and the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic has pervaded all areas of our daily lives. The aim of this research was to evaluate the quality of the most popular YouTubeTM videos about the effects of COVID-19 infection/pandemic status on children and adolescents. Materials and Methods: DISCERN tool and the Global Quality Scale were used to the reliability and quality of videos, respectively. The quality of the videos is classified into three groups as "poor quality", "moderate quality" and "good/ excellent quality". Results: A total of 112 videos were included in the study and these videos were evaluated by the researchers. Of the videos, 31.3% (n=35) were of good/excellent quality, 32.1% (n=36) were moderate, and 36.6% (n=41) were of poor quality. It was determined that the reliability of the good/excellent quality videos was statistically significantly higher than the moderate and poor-quality videos (p<0.001). Conclusion: Although YouTubeTM contains important health data, some of this information is false and consists of low-quality videos. Mental health professionals should direct patients to the correct internet information resources.