BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

What Social Media Tells Us About Coronavirus Fear, Anxiety — And Hope

Following
This article is more than 4 years old.

Five million people just announced on Twitter that they are sheltering in place at home. That’s an astounding number, mostly because it’s a small representation of the populace following orders. The hope is that every tweet from someone who even bothers to mention it, who has a Twitter account, and who is active on social media might represent several hundred more.

If you are like me, you have decided to stay at home even if your state has not yet made it mandatory. You are avoiding contact with people and when you go for a walk, you keep your distance — at least six feet or more. And, you are not hoarding food as much as keeping only what you need for a few weeks for your family to eat normally.

Recently, one of my favorite social media aggregators called Sprout Social announced some interesting findings about the fear and anxiety related to the pandemic on social media. You could say it is all anyone is talking about, and that’s mostly true. However, there are quite a few stats that surprised me and some gave me some hope in the darkness.

First off, there have been 197 million tweets about the virus in the last 10 days — more than any other topic by far. A full 9% of all conversations (or 17.6 million tweets) are discussing our healthcare system, what hospitals need to do, and the status of medical workers. That gives me some hope in that people are trying to address the situation — giving people the care they need, figuring out how to help nurses and doctors stay safe, and treatments.

The second most common topic of conversation has to do with flattening the curve. That’s the main goal right now as we all hunker down. I’ve read that if everyone in the world just stayed at home for two weeks we would completely eradicate this pandemic. Done. That will be extremely difficult, but what gives me hope is that (unlike a world war or a disease that can’t be stopped by any means) there is a way to prevent spreading in society. It’s to avoid all contact.

Sprout Social data suggests the economy is gaining as a trending topic, which I find annoying. Sorry that people who are dying will cause a stock dip for you. So sad. Last Thursday, people associating the virus with an economic downfall spiked. Big time.

The sentiment analysis is key here. The day can tell us how people are feeling about a wide variety of topics and also how that sentiment is trending over time. This helps us see how the masses feel about working at home, about the isolation, and about future possibilities. 

As far as the sentiment behind the tweets, 41% of postings about the spread of the virus have been negative, 31% have been neutral, and only 28% have been positive. This is relatively similar for conversations about K-12 schooling going online, with 46% of the tweets being negative, 27% being neutral, and 27% positive. 

A topic with more positive tweets (barely, but still) has been the updates on hospitals, ventilators, masks, and tests. Data shows that 36% of users have had positive things to say while 29% have stayed neutral and 35% have said negative things. 

What does all of this really mean? More than just the simple fact that people are opinionated. With this data, experts can adjust their messaging — they can hit home the need for social distancing if they see so many people concerned about it. They can ramp up efforts to give people tools about schooling at home. They can even address the negativity. 

I hope the CDC and others are listening. The masses have spoken.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website or some of my other work here