Young people likely to follow guidance if messages are from celebrities – expert

Young people are more likely to follow government guidance on social distancing and lockdown restrictions if the messages come from sources they identify with such as sports stars, musicians and celebrities, a leading scientist has said.

Behavioural expert Professor Susan Michie, who is a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said that tailoring information to different groups when it comes to implementing behavioural changes is “much more effective than blanket advice messaging”.

Speaking at a House of Lords Science and Technology Committee hearing, Prof Michie, who is the director of University College London’s Centre for Behaviour Change, said that while data shows that compliance with the Government’s lockdown guidance has been generally high, the group that has been most challenged to adhere to the rules is young people, especially younger men.

She added: “For those groups, messages that come from the sources they identify with; for example, leading well-known sports people, musicians, film celebrities etc, may very likely have much more impact on them than the kind of five o’clock communication and other types of general recent communications we have seen.

“So I think, moving forward, not only for young sections but also for other sections of the community that are struggling to adhere, I think we could do much more in terms of sophisticated tailoring communications.”

She said data has also shown that trust in the Government has been reducing in the last few weeks, especially among younger people.

She added that the approach of using well-known people to get key messages across to the members of the public “is very widely used as a way of helping people to change their behaviour”, saying: “I have been surprised that not more has been done about that.”

However, Prof Michie also emphasised that, along with getting the messaging right, more needs to be done to ensure that those following the guidance get the practical help they need, which may include understanding more about their social and financial circumstances.