Abstract: Social Media Ethics during Coronavirus among Egyptian Youth

◆ Dina Farouk Abou Zeid, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Social media websites are very popular among Egyptians especially the youth. Facebook , Instagram and Tik Tok are the most popular ones in Egypt. Young generations use social media to be entertained, socialized and informed about national and international news. Also, the global widespread of Corona virus and the lockdown have increased communicating about the virus on social media. But, unethical behavior and attitudes are found on these sites due to the lack of social media code of ethics in general and the lack of social media code of ethics during a pandemic in particular besides the lack of media literacy and digital literacy among Egyptian youth. So, a survey of 200 university students is conducted to examine social media ethics during covid-19 among Egyptian youth. The findings show that the majority of the sample share news about Corona virus without checking the credibility of the information. They share medical information from non medical sources. Moreover, they write their opinions on social media about news and announcements released from World Health Organization and ministry of health even if they do not have medical education. Moreover, they announce that a friend is covid-19 positive without taking his or her permission. Most of the sample share and write posts that can create panic among their friends and family members without being aware of this negative impact of their posts. Infodemic is a problem that they face online and are unable to deal with.