Viral Viruses and Modified Mobility: Cyberspace Disease Salience Predicts Human Movement Patterns

Humans have a motivational system that influences cognition and behavior to minimize the risk of contact with pathogens whenever cues to disease emerge. The current research examines the relationship between cyberspace disease salience and mobility behavior at the macro and micro levels. Across three studies, we predict and find that people adjust their mobility behavior to minimize the risk of close physical contact with strangers when cyberspace disease salience is high (vs. low). Study 1 examines web searches for terms related to the pandemic to determine relatively high and low disease salience periods in cyberspace. In Study 2, we analyze hourly sales data from five grocery stores and find that when cyberspace disease salience is high (vs. low), consumers spend 28% more money on each shopping trip and that grocery stores sell 10% more items per hour despite 10% fewer shoppers per hour. Finally, in Study 3, we test the generalizability of these results by analyzing the Google Community Mobility Reports. Here we find that high (vs. low) cyberspace disease salience is associated with an overall decrease in mobility in contexts where the risk of close contact with strangers is high--but not low, whereby we observe an increase in mobility.