大众传播与新闻学杂志

The Role of Mobile Based Communication by the Government during COVID-19 on College Students (IIHS, Ghaziabad)

Abstract

Ritika Bora*

COVID-19 poses a threat to global health. It is first ever experience for the countries to undergo a complete lockdown with the dependency for any information completely relying on media and government. During the pandemic the usage of mobile phones among the masses grew drastically and it was considered as an efficient medium by both public and the government. The mobile based communication was done through channels such as WhatsApp, Chat Boards, Caller Tune, Text Messages and Arogya Setu App etc., for spreading COVID related information among the masses. However, even after the continuous exchange of messages by the government, there are people who are still not showing the COVID appropriate behavior. As the third wave is predicated to hit the world again it is important to study the loopholes in the existing communication strategies and to rework on them in order to control the spread of the deadly virus. In this paper the researcher has studied the changes mobile based communication by the government during the COVID 19 has brought among the students studying in IIHS, Ghaziabad. The study shows that mobile is an effective mode of communication among the college students. It has successfully brought attitudinal and behavioral changes among the students and outlines the directions for the development of highly effective and efficient mobile based communication that can be utilized by the government in the near future.