In the last 20 years, research using hashtags has grown considerably. The changes that occurred in the digital environment have influenced their diffusion and development. Today, there is considerable research on hashtags, their use, and on hashtag activism. Likewise, there is a growing interest in their descriptive measures and their metrics. This article aimed to provide a review of this area of research and studies to outline the traits of hashtag research, which are yet nascent. To achieve this, we used a meta-study to produce a meta-synthesis capable of bringing out similarities and differences in research using hashtags and identifying spaces for the generation of new knowledge.
Hashtag research has established itself as a relevant research field, with various studies having analysed this polysemic collector in crisis and media events. Hashtags are used in social media, most specifically on Twitter. Further, between 2020 and 2021, hashtag studies linked to the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged. Accordingly, this study aimed to analyse the content of tweets during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 4–11, 2020) that included the hashtag #Covid-19 in three different languages: Italian, Spanish, and French. For these analyses, we used emotional text mining. The goal of this study was to reconstruct the representation of the pandemic, of containment measures, and of Europe in tweets. We discussed the prevailing attitude towards Europe in times of crisis.
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