Gender, Konsumsi Berita COVID-19 dan News Fatigue di Jakarta

Abstract

In the current era of ‘flood of information’, people are competing to be the first to obtain and share information, especially that is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Particularly for those who live in metropolitan areas like Jakarta (with the most COVID-19 cases per January 2021), who are always required to be up to date. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), is feeling anxious or insecure about the possibility of losing or missing something. FOMO will cause someone to be more aggressive in accessing information which can ultimately lead to news fatigue, a condition where a person feels stressed or exhausted due to information overload. Researchers examine the differences of news fatigue practices based on gender in the context of the pandemic. This study uses Uses and Gratifications 2.0 theory along with the concept of news fatigue to news avoidance as well as news and gender. As a descriptive-qualitative study using a case-study method, we utilize media diary and in-depth interviews as our data collection strategy. The results indicate that female participants experienced news fatigue differently from male participants. In the context of the COVID-19 news, female participants felt they were more tired of this topic since most of the news was negative and being reported repeatedly. Their types of jobs and the double burden of participants play an important role in the practice of news fatigue in Jakarta based on gender. Because of this perceived fatigue, female participants are increasingly avoiding news regarding COVID-19.