The role of social networks in creating dramatic collective behaviors due to corona outbreak: A case study of Bushehr

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of social networks in creating dramatic collective behaviors due to the corona outbreak in Bushehr. The research method was descriptive-survey based on the findings of the field research. The statistical population of the study includes all people over 20 years old living in Bushehr (197864 people) in 2020 AD. Based on cluster random sampling method, 384 people were selected as the sample. Library and field resources were used to collect data. To collect data in the field section, a researcher-made questionnaire on theatrical collective behaviors caused by corona outbreaks based on social networks was used. The questionnaire was designed in six components including social fashion, social phobia, social lust, social madness, social rumor and social mania. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the content validity of the questionnaire from the professors' point of view and to evaluate the construct validity. Cronbach's alpha was also used to evaluate the reliability, which was calculated to be 79. for the whole questionnaire. To test the research hypotheses, one-sample t-test, Pearson correlation, one-way analysis of variance and structural equation modeling were used. The results showed that the values of correlation between the components of the research with the use of social networks are moderate and high. The highest correlation between the use of social networks and dramatic collective behaviors is in the dimension of social panic (R = 0.518).