While experts may believe the media to be an outlet which only serves to create public anxiety,
consumers often view this commodity in a more positive light and see the media as a valuable
channel of risk-related information about food
The Internet has become a key channel for consumers to seek food risk information
One of the main determinants of information seeking according to the RISP framework is the
information insufficiency of a consumer. This concept has been found to be more predictive of
information seeking than the actual level of knowledge held by an individual
t the level of interest in a particular topic is one of the main drivers to determine media usage.
individuals might be interested in using social media information channels alongside other channels
rather than the use of one replacing another
risk perception and affective response were indeed positively correlated to information need and
information seeking
five distinct groups: heavy institutional-source users, moderate institutionalsource users, social
source users, non-selective heavy users and low users. Their results also indicated that those
consumers who relied more heavily on their social network as a source of information displayed the
highest level of trait worry. These results thus suggest that higher risk perception and a stronger
affective response might result in an increased preference for information seeking. As a corollary of
this, a trait risk sensitivity might lead to a higher preference for social media friends, family and peers
as a source of information – central to many social media applications.
older people and males have much lower trust in online health information channels than younger
people and females
- The participants in segment 1 were characterised by a high intention to use all available
channels to seek additional information about the risks of fresh vegetables. For this reason,
we labelled this segment as ‘High cross-channel inclination’. (Henceforth referred to as the
‘High’ segment). Approximately 24% of the participants were classified in this segment.
- Participants in segment 2 were labelled as ‘Established media inclination’ (or the
‘Established’ segment). Compared to participants of the ‘High’ segment who showed a
tendency to seek additional information through all available channels, participants of this
segment were particularly inclined to seek additional information about risks of fresh
vegetables through the more established channels such as online and traditional media.
Social media was not appealing as a potential channel to seek information to this segment.
This was the largest segment accounting for 31% of the participants.
- Segment 3 contained participants with a moderate tendency to use the presented channels
to seek additional information. While these participants were less inclined to use traditional
and online media compared to the total sample, they were more inclined to use social media
as information channel. This segment contained 26% of the participants and is labelled as
‘Moderate cross-channel inclination’ and referred to as the ‘Moderate’ segment.
- Segment 4 represents the smallest segment with approximately 19% of the participants. The
‘Low cross-channel inclination’ segment (or ‘Low’ segment) revealed a low inclination to seek
additional information about vegetable risks, regardless of the information channel
consumers often view this commodity in a more positive light and see the media as a valuable
channel of risk-related information about food
The Internet has become a key channel for consumers to seek food risk information
One of the main determinants of information seeking according to the RISP framework is the
information insufficiency of a consumer. This concept has been found to be more predictive of
information seeking than the actual level of knowledge held by an individual
t the level of interest in a particular topic is one of the main drivers to determine media usage.
individuals might be interested in using social media information channels alongside other channels
rather than the use of one replacing another
risk perception and affective response were indeed positively correlated to information need and
information seeking
five distinct groups: heavy institutional-source users, moderate institutionalsource users, social
source users, non-selective heavy users and low users. Their results also indicated that those
consumers who relied more heavily on their social network as a source of information displayed the
highest level of trait worry. These results thus suggest that higher risk perception and a stronger
affective response might result in an increased preference for information seeking. As a corollary of
this, a trait risk sensitivity might lead to a higher preference for social media friends, family and peers
as a source of information – central to many social media applications.
older people and males have much lower trust in online health information channels than younger
people and females
- The participants in segment 1 were characterised by a high intention to use all available
channels to seek additional information about the risks of fresh vegetables. For this reason,
we labelled this segment as ‘High cross-channel inclination’. (Henceforth referred to as the
‘High’ segment). Approximately 24% of the participants were classified in this segment.
- Participants in segment 2 were labelled as ‘Established media inclination’ (or the
‘Established’ segment). Compared to participants of the ‘High’ segment who showed a
tendency to seek additional information through all available channels, participants of this
segment were particularly inclined to seek additional information about risks of fresh
vegetables through the more established channels such as online and traditional media.
Social media was not appealing as a potential channel to seek information to this segment.
This was the largest segment accounting for 31% of the participants.
- Segment 3 contained participants with a moderate tendency to use the presented channels
to seek additional information. While these participants were less inclined to use traditional
and online media compared to the total sample, they were more inclined to use social media
as information channel. This segment contained 26% of the participants and is labelled as
‘Moderate cross-channel inclination’ and referred to as the ‘Moderate’ segment.
- Segment 4 represents the smallest segment with approximately 19% of the participants. The
‘Low cross-channel inclination’ segment (or ‘Low’ segment) revealed a low inclination to seek
additional information about vegetable risks, regardless of the information channel
