Coronavirus diaries are helping people cope. They're also a research gold mine


As the COVID-19 pandemic continues on, people are turning to social media to share their stories and find communities. With a flood of misinformation online and mixed messaging from government leaders, many are documenting their own experiences having the novel coronavirus to give contextual experiences and reduce others’ anxiety. Researchers have noticed this spike in digital diaries and are using it for research as well.

This is a rapid response story about a coping strategy. Due to the urgent crisis, we are relaxing the ‘evidence of effectiveness’ criterion for solutions coverage on COVID-19 to capture early stage, improvisational, and experimental responses that cope with the pandemic.

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