Maryam Mahdikhani
Last summer, Maryam Mahdikhani, assistant professor of supply chain and information management at the College of Charleston, analyzed Twitter users’ emotions during different stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 1.25 million tweets shared between January 2020 to May 2021 were collected, and her findings are published on ScienceDirect in a paper titled “Predicting the popularity of tweets by analyzing public opinion and emotions in different stages of Covid-19 pandemic.”
Mahdikhani discovered that more than 70% of social media users in the U.S. use Twitter as the predominant platform for Covid-19 related news, and the website’s traffic has increased by 36% since the virus’s initial outbreak. She became curious about how the pattern of public emotion from the start of the pandemic to the distribution of vaccines can be an indicator of future trends.
Her research shows that emotional tweets about Covid-19 are far more popular than the ones that shared scientific data about the virus. “What I learned is that people like to share tweets that are mostly related to emotions rather than just facts or information about the pandemic,” said Mahdikahni.
The study indicates a range of emotions behind tweets shared during the pandemic aside from just fear, such as sadness, anger, and joy:
- People shared more emotional tweets during the beginning of the pandemic when understanding of Covid-19 was still unclear and limited.
- April was the most joyful month on Twitter when the stay-at-home order was first implemented.
- Soon after, tweets took on a sad tone as people began to feel the pandemic is endless.
- People were fearful in the October timeframe when former President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID.
- Public emotion became more positive when the FDA approved and authorized the first batches of effective COVID vaccines.
Insights from professor Mahdikhani’s research on how the population reacts to distressing times can improve public health in our communities. When managing similar events in the future, officials and authorities can develop a strategic communication plan to respond to the public’s concerns and prevent false information from disseminating.
See full article on The College TODAY.
