Changes in Perceptions and Use of Mobile Technology and Health Communication in South Africa During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Background In late March 2020, South Africa implemented a 5-stage COVID-19 Risk Adjusted Strategy, which included a lockdown that required all residents to remain home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Due to this lockdown, individuals have been forced to find and use alternatives for accomplishing tasks including shopping, socializing, working, and finding information, and many have turned to the internet and their mobile devices. Objective This study aimed to describe how South Africans consume and internalize information surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak in order to determine whether the COVID-19 lockdown and social isolation have influenced technology behavior, particularly in terms of health communication and information. Methods From June 24 to August 24, 2020, people in South Africa were invited to complete a survey through the Upinion mobile app, an online data collection resource. The survey collected information on demographics, and technology use during the lockdown, and COVID-19 knowledge. Results There were 405 participants, of which 296 (73.06%) were female. A total of 320 (79.01%) participants had a tertiary school education, 242 (59.75%) were single, and 173 (42.72%) had full-time employment. The lockdown forced 363 (89.63%) participants to use more technology, especially for work (n=140, 24.05%) and social media/communication (n=133, 22.85%). Security or privacy issues (n=46, 38.98%) and unfamiliarity with technology (n=32, 27.12%) were identified as the most common issues faced by the 127 (31.36%) participants who were unsure about using technology prior to the lockdown. Almost all participants (n=392, 96.79%) stated that they would continue using technology after the lockdown. Multimedia (n=215, 53.09%), mobile phone content (n=99, 24.44%), and health organizations and professionals (n=91, 22.47%) were the main sources of COVID-19 information. Most participants (n=282, 69.63%) felt that they had enough information. Two-thirds (n=275, 67.90%) of participants stated that they had used their mobile phones for health information before the lockdown, with web searches (n=109, 26.91%), social media (n=58, 14.32%), and government and institutional websites (n=52; 12.84%) serving as their main sources of information. Overall, the mean COVID-19 knowledge score was 8.8 (out of 10), and 335 (82.72%) had adequate knowledge (scored ≥8). Males were less likely to identify the correct transmission routes, and single participants were less likely to identify the signs and symptoms of the coronavirus. Tertiary school graduates were 4 times more likely to correctly identify the routes and 2 times more likely to identify how to stop the spread of the virus. People aged 43-56 years were 4 times more likely to identify how the coronavirus can be prevented, and participants ≥57 years were 2.6 times more likely to obtain a knowledge score of 10 when compared to those under 29 years of age. Conclusions This study has shown that the COVID-19 lockdown has forced people to increase technology use, and people plan to continue using technology after the lockdown is lifted. Increased technology use was seen across a variety of fields; however, barriers including privacy, unfamiliarity, and data costs were identified. This population showed high COVID-19 knowledge, although the use of web searches and social media, instead of government and institutional websites, increases the potential for health misinformation to be spread.