A Content and Sentiment Analysis of Greek Tweets during the Pandemic

Dimitrios Kydros, Maria Argyropoulou and Vasiliki Vrana
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Dimitrios Kydros: Department of Economic Sciences, School of Economics and Administration, Campus of Serres, International Hellenic University, 62124 Serres, Greece
Maria Argyropoulou: University Center of International Programmes of Studies, International Hellenic University, 57001 Nea Moudania, Greece
Vasiliki Vrana: Department of Business Administration, School of Economics and Administration, Campus of Serres, International Hellenic University, 62124 Serres, Greece

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-21

Abstract: During the time of the coronavirus, strict prevention policies, social distancing, and limited contact with others were enforced in Greece. As a result, Twitter and other social media became an important place of interaction, and conversation became online. The aim of this study is to examine Twitter discussions around COVID-19 in Greece. Twitter was chosen because of the critical role it played during the global health crisis. Tweets were recorded over four time periods. NodeXL Pro was used to identify word pairs, create semantic networks, and analyze them. A lexicon-based sentiment analysis was also performed. The main topics of conversation were extracted. “New cases” are heavily discussed throughout, showing fear of transmission of the virus in the community. Mood analysis showed fluctuations in mood over time. Positive emotions weakened and negative emotions increased. Fear is the dominant sentiment. Timely knowledge of people’s sentiment can be valuable for government agencies to develop efficient strategies to better manage the situation and use efficient communication guidelines in Twitter to disseminate accurate, reliable information and control panic.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; pandemic; discussion; Twitter; social network analysis; sentiment analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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