Hodson on speaking to young adults about the pandemic

Digital media and online communication expert Dr. Jaigris Hodson joined host Gregor Craigie on CBC Radio’s On the Island to discuss how to best reach young adults with public health messaging during the pandemic, after BC Premier John Horgan urged people aged 19 to 39 to “don’t blow this for the rest of us.”

Here is some of what Hodson had to say:

“Top down messages, father figure messages, they don’t land well and it’s because social media works so differently than conventional broadcast media. He can’t just stand there and tell people what to do at 3 p.m. every day and then hope they will follow it.

“What would be a better approach is to give people more information. People are looking for local information that is very relevant for them in that moment. They’re looking for imformation that is engaging and they’re really looking for that transparency in order to be able to take the message and  feel like it's credible.”

You can listen to the whole interview on CBC Radio’s On the Island.