JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In April 2020, as cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread across the globe, MTV Staying Alive Foundation created the educational entertainment miniseries MTV Shuga: Alone Together. In 70 short episodes released daily on YouTube, Alone Together aimed to disseminate timely and accurate information to increase young people’s knowledge, motivation and actions to prevent COVID-19.

Objective:

We sought to identify young people’s perspectives on the global COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdowns by examining the words, conversations, experiences and emotions expressed on social media in response to the Alone Together episodes. We also assessed how viewers used the series and its online community as a source of support during the global pandemic.

Methods:

3,982 comments and 70 live chat conversations were extracted from YouTube between April-October 2020 and analysed through a data-led inductive thematic approach. Analyses were conducted within one week of episodes premiering. Aggregated demographic and geographical data were collected using YouTube Analytics.

Results:

The miniseries had a global reach across 5 continents, with a total 7.7 million views across MTV Shuga platforms. The series had almost 1 million views over 70 episodes on YouTube and an average 5,683 unique viewers per episode on YouTube. The dominant audience was young people (65%, between 18-24 years old) and women (85%). Across diverse countries like Nigeria, Ghana, the USA and the UK, viewers believed that COVID-19 was serious and expressed that it was people’s social responsibility to follow public health measures. The series storylines about the impact of self-isolation on mental health, exposure to violence in lockdowns and restricted employment opportunities due to the pandemic resonated with young viewers. Tuning in to the miniseries provided viewers with reliable information, entertainment, and an online community during an isolating, confusing and worrying time.

Conclusions:

During the first wave of COVID-19, young people from 53 countries connected on social media via the MTV miniseries. The analysis showed how digitally connected young people, predominantly young women, felt compelled to follow COVID-19 safety measures despite the pandemic’s impact on their psychosocial needs. Viewers used social media to reach out to fellow viewers for advice, solace, support and resources. Organisations, governments and individuals have been forced to innovate during the pandemic to ensure people can access services safely and remotely. This analysis showed that young people are receptive to receiving support from online communities and media services. Peer influence and support online can be a powerful public health tool as young people have a great capacity to influence each other and shape norms around public health. However, online services are not accessible to everyone, and COVID-19 has increased disparities between digitally connected and unconnected young people.