Understanding public sentiment toward global issues is very important in a rapidly changing digital society. One such issue is the public response to COVID-19 vaccinations. This research explores the topic, focusing on the polarization of opinion on Twitter, a popular social media platform that serves as a microcosm for more expansive societal views.
The rise of social media and communication facilities triggered some issues for people. For instance, polarization has become more prominent in daily interactions, and some aspects are discussed more intensely (Buder et al., 2021). Look, for example, for the discussion about flat earth and the efficacy of the application of vaccines. Further, exposure to negative or positive positioning in social media alters how people evaluate some subjects. For example, exposure to negative portrayals reinforces negative attitudes (Schmuck et al., 2020), affecting psychological aspects.
In this sense, Twitter is a social media that discuss sensitive themes and generally ends in polarization (Hong & Kim, 2016). This polarization can negatively affect users and distort the theme discussed in social media. Generally, this discussion is guided by political positioning that distorts scientific arguments, creating an environment filled with hate and negative emotions (Hong & Kim, 2016; Urman, 2020). For instance, pro-trump personas have a negative positioning regarding vaccines than anti-trump (Walter et al., 2020). All these aspects affect how people feel during situations like this.
Nowadays, humanity faces the worst pandemic in history regarding COVID-19, and now countries are trying to vaccinate citizens to control the advance of the pandemic around the world. However, there is some polarization regarding this topic. In this case, some pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine debates about vaccines' quality and effectiveness growth in social media scenarios. Therefore, the polarized debate can prejudice the application of vaccines worldwide in combating the advance of the Pandemic (Pareek et al., 2009).
Nevertheless, how do people feel about the COVID-19 vaccine compared to traditional Vaccines? This research investigated this issue using a large sample extracted from Twitter (N = 1,527,701). To analyze the psychological aspects triggered in people, we perform a sentiment analysis of tweets using the software LIWC. This software extracts psychological meanings from words (Chung & Pennebaker, 2013) and helps us understand how subjects feel in their tweets.
The results revealed that there are polarizations regarding COVID-19. Specifically, compared with traditional vaccines, COVID-19 Vaccines generated more positive emotions, achievement perceptions, fewer risk perceptions, and fewer death perceptions. It indicates that people are not preoccupied with the effects of COVID-19, and it can prejudice the advance of vaccine application.
With these findings, we contribute to public health by demonstrating how the vaccines for COVID-19 implicate citizens' psychological aspects. Moreover, we showed how they could act to attenuate this polarization to improve the advance of vaccination campaigns. Furthermore, we explore an alternative method to monitor people's perceptions about other vaccines or campaigns to combat other diseases.
The findings from our analysis offer significant insights into public sentiment surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines, revealing a marked polarization compared to traditional vaccines. We observed an increase in positive emotions and achievement perceptions, coupled with a decrease in risk and death perceptions, which point to an overall reduced sense of urgency about the severity of the pandemic among specific population segments. Such trends could have significant implications for the progress of vaccination drives.
Our research underscores the critical role of psychological factors in shaping public responses to public health initiatives, with far-reaching implications. It suggests that efforts to advance vaccination campaigns must consider not just medical and scientific factors but also the psychological responses of the population. Tailoring communication strategies to address these responses could significantly enhance the effectiveness of these campaigns.
Moreover, our findings shed light on an innovative approach for gauging public sentiment towards health campaigns. By harnessing the power of social media analysis, we can uncover crucial insights into the public's perceptions and emotions regarding vaccines or other disease prevention strategies. This method could be valuable for health authorities to gauge public sentiment and tailor their approach accordingly.
This study has not only deepened our understanding of the psychological implications of COVID-19 vaccinations but also provided a roadmap for leveraging similar methodologies for future health campaigns. However, more research is needed to understand the demographic and sociocultural factors that may further shape these perceptions and how they evolve.
Theoretical review
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a gamut of emotions, reactions, and responses across the globe, making understanding public sentiment toward it a vital aspect (Pedrosa et al., 2020). This research dives into this public sentiment, focusing primarily on the polarization of opinion regarding COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter, a widespread social media platform that reflects broader societal perspectives.
A significant sentiment polarization has been observed on Twitter towards diverse themes, which is not different regarding COVID-19 vaccines. Factors such as misinformation, political beliefs, personal experiences, and influence from public figures contribute to this. The echo chamber effect, which leads to users interacting more with like-minded individuals, further exacerbates this polarization (Garimella & Weber, 2017).
Understanding this polarization is crucial, given its wide-ranging implications. Negative sentiment and misinformation contribute to vaccine hesitancy, identified by the World Health Organization as one of the significant threats to global health (Troiano & Nardi, 2021). On the other hand, positive sentiment can encourage vaccine uptake, especially when shared by influencers.
The findings derived from Twitter sentiment analysis can inform public health agencies and governments to tailor their communication strategies, addressing fears and misconceptions and promoting fact-based dialogue. Understanding public sentiment is vital for developing effective health communication strategies despite the complexity of understanding public sentiment.
The advent of big data presents opportunities to harness these tools to understand better and address public sentiment, potentially paving the way for tackling the ongoing pandemic and future global challenges. This research uses this rich data source to provide some insights into how people perceive the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine and how people express their sentiments related to it.
Understanding Sentiment Analysis
Sentiment analysis, or opinion mining, is a computational study of people's opinions, appraisals, and emotions toward entities, events, and attributes. It has been widely used in politics, marketing, and public health for understanding public sentiment and informing strategy. With its massive user base and high-volume data, Twitter is an excellent platform for this kind of analysis (Aslan et al., 2023).
Sentiment analysis can be complex due to the nuances of human language, including sarcasm, idioms, and cultural context. However, advanced machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) algorithms have shown promise in addressing these challenges.
Polarization on Twitter and COVID-19 Vaccines
Twitter has been a hotbed for the discussion of COVID-19 vaccines. Studies have indicated significant polarization in sentiments toward the vaccine(Henkel et al., 2023). On one end, there is strong endorsement and encouragement for vaccination as a vital measure to curb the pandemic. On the other, there are skepticism, mistrust, and outright vaccine denial sentiments (Henkel et al., 2023).
Several factors contribute to this polarization, including misinformation, political beliefs, personal experiences, and the influence of public figures. The echo chamber effect, where users are more likely to interact with and be influenced by like-minded individuals, further intensifies this polarization (Dolman et al., 2023; Henkel et al., 2023; Xie et al., 2023).
Understanding this polarization has far-reaching implications. Vaccine hesitancy, partly fueled by negative sentiment and misinformation, has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top threats to global health. Conversely, positive sentiment, particularly when shared by influencers, can encourage vaccine uptake (Garimella & Weber, 2017; Troiano & Nardi, 2021).
The information obtained from sentiment analysis on Twitter can help public health agencies, and governments tailor their communication strategies to address fears and misconceptions and promote fact-based dialogue.
Sentiment analysis on Twitter provides an insightful lens into the public's sentiment about the COVID-19 vaccine, revealing a significant polarization of opinions. This understanding, while complex, is vital for designing effective health communication strategies. In the age of big data, harnessing these tools and approaches to understand better and address public sentiment could be vital in tackling the ongoing pandemic and future global challenges.