Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Usage: Perspectives on 2023

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between Information Communications Technology (ICT), social connectedness, and perceptions of COVID-19 in the United States following the official end of the public health emergency in 2023. Responses from 400 online survey respondents were analyzed. Logistic regression analyses identified predictors of (1) the perceived importance of social connectedness and (2) whether participants perceived COVID-19 as an ongoing health threat. Social connectedness was positively associated with extraversion, agreeableness, self-regulation, need to belong, phone attachment, and social media use, and negatively associated with number of ICT devices. Perceiving COVID-19 as a threat was negatively associated with boredom and need to belong and positively associated with openness and ICT usage. Sankey diagrams were used to visualize changes in ICT usage from 2020 to 2023. Findings contribute to ongoing longitudinal research on post-pandemic technology use and psychosocial adaptation.

Keywords

Information and communications technology COVID-19

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