風險社會中的資訊迴避現象之探討：以新冠肺炎疫情為背景

Exploring Information Avoidance Phenomenon in the Risk Society: In the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

佘路(Lu She)

指導教授 ： 林珊如

國立臺灣大學/文學院/圖書資訊學研究所/碩士(2022年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU202200280

摘要

從2019年末，全球範圍內持續受到新冠肺炎疫情影響，疫情相關資訊也逐漸增加，疫情給人們帶來了包括影響身體健康在內的多種風險，獲取資訊是人們應對疫情帶來的風險的重要基礎，而接觸大量疫情相關資訊逐漸讓部分人產生負面感受，並影響到現實生活，讓其產生迴避資訊的動機與行為。
本研究希望了解在新冠肺炎疫情這樣的社會層面風險下人們對相關資訊的迴避行為，參考前人風險資訊尋求與迴避相關理論與模型，探索人們對疫情相關資訊之迴避原因與策略，也進一步探索在疫情中迴避相關資訊給人們帶來的具體影響。
本研究使用紮根理論和現象學的研究方法，訪談八位來自中國大陸且疫情期間生活在中國大陸的受訪者。根據訪談資料與前人文獻，本研究認為資訊迴避行為不應單獨研究，更適於在了解研究對象個人特徵和相關資訊行為的基礎上進行，因而從個人特徵、資訊行為與資訊迴避三個方面探索受訪者及其在疫情中的經驗和想法。發現受訪者之個人特徵，尤其是性格及自我認知，會影響其迴避資訊的決策；而在資訊行為中，受訪者之資訊來源和對資訊品質與可信度之感受均會對其資訊迴避產生影響。
研究發現，人們會因為個人特徵、個人境況與經歷、資訊太多、資訊難以理解、情感反應和社會信任六大因素迴避疫情相關資訊。在具體的迴避情境中，人們主要迴避的是尋求和接收資訊，迴避策略又有主動與被動、直接與間接、部分與完全的區分。此外本研究也發現，部分人因為自身從事的職業而對疫情相關資訊存在想迴避但不能迴避的情況，並基於這一發現進行了討論和建議。
在疫情中迴避相關資訊會在人們的情緒與思想和現實生活兩方面產生影響。迴避資訊有助於減少人們在疫情中的資訊過載和負面情緒，迴避行為也被部分人視為對疫情相關負面資訊的一種抗議，這種迴避也讓人們更加關注自身感受和其他社會議題；在現實生活中，迴避疫情相關資訊讓人們回歸生活，能夠更好地工作與學習。本研究也發現迴避疫情資訊會產生負面影響，若個人不認同自身的迴避行為，這種迴避會讓其產生負罪感，迴避資訊同時也對人們的工作和學業造成負面影響。
基於前人研究和本研究資料分析與研究結果，本研究也提出新冠肺炎疫情相關資訊迴避模型。

關鍵字

新冠肺炎疫情 ； 風險社會 ； 資訊行為 ； 資訊超載 ； 資訊迴避

並列摘要

From the end of 2019, the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic continues to affect people worldwide, and information about this pandemic is gradually increasing. This pandemic brings a variety of risks to people, including health effects, and access to information is an important means for people to deal with the risks brought by this pandemic, but exposure to a large amount of information related to this pandemic gradually creates negative feelings and affects the actual lives of some people, which motivates people to avoid information.
This study was conducted to explore people's information avoidance behavior in the context of social risk such as the Covid-19 pandemic, to discover the reasons and strategies for information avoidance about this pandemic with reference to previous theories and models related to risk information seeking and avoidance, and to further explore the specific effects of information avoidance on people in this pandemic.
Based on the grounded theory and phenomenological research methods, the researcher conducted in-depth interview with eight respondents from mainland China who were living in mainland China during this pandemic. Based on the interview data and literatures, this study concluded that information avoidance behavior should not be studied in isolation, but rather in relation to the the study of the individual characteristics and related information behavior, and therefore explored the respondents' experiences and thoughts in this pandemic from three aspects: individual characteristics, information behavior, and information avoidance. Respondents' individual characteristics, especially personality and self-perception, were found to influence their information avoidance decisions, while in information behavior, respondents' information sources and perceptions of information quality and credibility influenced their information avoidance.
The study found that six factors affect people to avoid information about this pandemic: individual characteristics, individual circumstances and experiences, too much information, incomprehensibility of information, affective response, and social trust. In specific avoidance situations, people mainly avoid seeking and receiving information, and avoidance strategies are distinguished as active versus passive, direct versus indirect, and partial versus complete. In addition, this study also found that some people are tempted to avoid relevant information during this pandemic but cannot do so because of their occupations, and based on this finding, the study discussed and proposed recommendations.
Avoidance of information during this pandemic can have impacts on people's emotions and thoughts as well as on their real lives. Avoidance of information helps reduce information overload and negative emotions during this pandemic, and avoidance is seen by some people as a form of silent protest against negative information related to this pandemic. This kind of avoidance also makes people pay more attention to their own feelings and other social issues. This study also found that avoidance of information about this pandemic had negative effects. If individuals do not recognize their avoidance behavior, this avoidance can lead to feelings of guilt, and avoidance of information can also have negative effects on people's work and schooling.
Based on the findings of this study, this research also proposes a model of information avoidance related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

並列關鍵字

the Covid-19 pandemic ； Risk Society ； information behavior ； information overload ； information avoidance

參考文獻

洪元元（2008）。從使用者音樂聆賞歷程探討線上音樂分類架構（未出版之碩士論文）。國立臺灣大學圖書資訊學研究所，台北市。

Aldiabat, K. M., Le Navenec, C. L. (2018). Data saturation: The mysterious step in grounded theory methodology. The Qualitative Report, 23(1), 245-261.

Bates, M. J. (2009). Information Behavior. In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition (pp. 2381-2391). Taylor Francis. Retrieved from http://blog.pulipuli.info/2014/04/lis-information-behavior-in.html

Baumeister, R. F. (2010). The self. In R. F. Baumeister E. J. Finkel (Eds.), Advanced social psychology: The state of the science (pp. 139–175). Oxford University Press.

Bawden, D., Robinson, L. (2009). The dark side of information: overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies. Journal of information science, 35(2), 180-191.