Social media rumors and their impact on psychological well-being during the ongoing war in Sudan

Abstract

This study aims to identify the level of psychological reassurance and the impact of rumors on social media during the ongoing war in Sudan, and to reveal differences in the level of psychological reassurance among the study sample.

The study sample consisted of (233) members of the Sudanese community in the state of Salalah in the Dhofar Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman. They were selected intentionally. A descriptive approach was used, consistent with the study's objectives. A questionnaire was designed after reviewing the theoretical literature and previous studies and distributed electronically. The study concluded that the average psychological reassurance among the sample was (39.4850), which is considered statistically significant, meaning that there is likely an influence related to psychological reassurance that makes it high. The results also revealed that the correlation between psychological reassurance and rumors on social media during the ongoing war in Sudan amounted to (0.725). This value indicates that the lower the psychological reassurance, the greater the impact of rumors on social media, but the relationship is not strong. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in either psychological reassurance or the impact of rumors on social media between males and females. They also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in either psychological reassurance or rumors on social media between different age groups, according to education level, and that there were statistically significant differences according to marital status.