The current study examined motivations for podcast listeners in Taiwan by constructing a preliminary podcast motivations scale. Theoretically grounded in uses and gratifications, the current research drew upon extant work in podcast motivations and proposed a new scale as we look to podcast engagement in a Taiwanese context, considering the global marketplace of podcast popularity. As podcasts have emerged as a popular form of entertainment in Taiwan, the study participants was composed of a Taiwanese sample, with the proposed podcast motivations scale tested through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and measurement invariance (N = 1,584). Results elicited the 15-item podcast motivations scale. Three factors were identified and explained over fifty (54.1%) percent of the variance, consisting of entertainment (21.1%), information-seeking (18.4%), and companionship (14.6%). Overall, the results indicate that this new scale is a reliable measurement for understanding the motivations of podcast listeners in Taiwan, with implications for a global consumer base as we look to the future of podcast engagement.

Based on the extended parallel process model, this study investigated the relationship between young adults’ media exposure to COVID-19 and their adoption of protective behaviors. This study surveyed 141 college students and found that increased risk perceptions led to greater intentions to engage in COVID-19-preventive behaviors and that these intentions were mediated by normative beliefs. There was no significant difference in risk perceptions between traditional media and social media. The results showed that college students took precautions against COVID-19 because they perceived themselves to be both vulnerable and capable.

In October 2021, National Basketball Association player Kyrie Irving was banned from competing for the Brooklyn Nets because of his resistance to being vaccinated for COVID-19. Two months later, the Nets softened that stance and allowed Irving to participate in road games. This study examines two prongs of the social media response to Irving’s vaccination status. A total of 12,000 posts were collected from the U.S.-based Twitter (now known as X; 6,000) and the Chinese-based Weibo (6,000), covering the first week of coverage of Irving and the Nets’ announcement. Results showed that Hofstede’s cultural dimensions help explain the theme differences, with Twitter’s comments reflecting more individualistic notions and lower power distance than Weibo. Moreover, Twitter users focused more on opinion-based expression themes, while Weibo users avoided commenting on the COVID-19 policy. These findings contribute to the literature by identifying the role culture plays in people’s response to a social issue.

In the dynamic intersection of health communication and disinformation, this study addresses a crucial gap by investigating tailored intervention strategies for disinformation-susceptible public segments, as classified by the motivation-knowledge-attitude framework. Integrating with inoculation theory, the research assesses the impact of autonomy-supportive and autonomy-controlling inoculation messages on outcomes such as motivational threat and perceived message effectiveness. Results reveal that autonomy-controlling messages are generally more effective in motivating disinformation-susceptible publics to critically evaluate and counter future disinformation, whereas disinformation-immune publics favor autonomy-supportive messages. These insights underline the significance of tailoring mechanisms within inoculation messages, particularly autonomy-controlling ones, in enhancing the effectiveness of health communication campaigns targeting vaccine disinformation. The findings contribute theoretically and practically, offering valuable guidance for health communication professionals in crafting strategies to combat disinformation effectively.