Information and instructions – opportunities and challenges
How much information are we truly receptive to in a world where we are overwhelmed by media messages and government messages about risks and threats? Two studies – one on risk information and one on instructions – highlight both opportunities and challenges.
The question of how much risk information individuals are receptive to forms the starting point for the project's survey study on so-called information fatigue as a barrier in preventive campaign contexts.
The results show that one in three respondents experiences information fatigue. For communication practitioners, the study highlights that citizens who lack knowledge and information about risk issues are not necessarily motivated to receive additional risk messages.
Lakew, Y och Olausson, U. (2023). When We Don’t Want to Know More: Information Sufficiency and the Case of Swedish Flood Risks. Journal of international crisis and risk communication research 2023, VOL 6, NO 1, 65–90. For more information, please contact: yuliya.lakew@ju.se
Existing government communication with citizens about risk and safety almost always includes instructions – that is, information intended to enhance citizens’ ability to protect themselves against various types of hazards.
Gabriella Sandstig, researcher at the University of Gothenburg and part of the DURCOM project, presents an overview of both the opportunities and the challenges associated with the use of such instructions in, for example, municipal risk and safety communication.
Johansson, B., & Sandstig, G. (2023). Instruction as self-protection. In T. L. Sellnow & D. D. Sellnow (Eds.). Communicating Risk and Safety. De Gruyter Mouton.