The Contagion of Sentiments during the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: The Case of Isolation in Spain

Abstract

This study examines how confinement measures established during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis affected the emotions of the population. For this purpose, public sentiment on social media and digital ecosystems in Spain is analyzed. We identified affective tones towards media and citizens published on social media focusing on six basic emotions: anger, fear, joy, sadness, disgust and uncertainty. The main contribution of this work is the evidence of contagious sentiments and, consequently, the possibility of using this new dimension of social media as a form of a “collective therapy”. This paper contributes to understanding the impact of confinement measures in a pandemic from the point of view of emotional health. This analysis provides a set of practical implications that can guide conceptual and empirical work in health crisis management with an alternative approach, especially useful for decision-making processes facing emergency responses and health crises, even in an unprecedented global health crisis such as the traumatic events caused by the COVID-19 disease.

Antecedents and Consequences of Information Overload in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Responding to their calls for public and scholarly attention to be paid to these critical issues [ 40 , 41 ], future studies would be prudent to examine the role of the media in acting against rumors and misinformation, and examine the impact of the media on individuals. In addition, in light of the psychological and emotional impacts of COVID-19 information (e.g., fatigue and anxiety) found in the recent studies [ 37 , 42 , 43 ], future studies would add more valuable insights if they aim to investigate psychological and emotional responses of information overload.…”

Emotional Experience and Feelings during First COVID-19 Outbreak Perceived by Physical Therapists: A Qualitative Study in Madrid, Spain

“…Obviously, a global lockdown situation that healthcare professionals also lived in parallel at home could also have contributed to these emotions or feelings. In fact, anger, fear, sadness, disgust, and uncertainty were emotions reported by Spanish citizens during their lockdown at the first COVID-19 outbreak [ 34 ]. Zhang et al [ 35 ] also reported that health professionals (nurses) had several negative emotional reactions in the early stages of home isolation.…”

Social Bots’ Sentiment Engagement in Health Emergencies: A Topic-Based Analysis of the COVID-19 Pandemic Discussions on Twitter

“…Prevention measures, such as quarantine and travel bans, limited individuals’ freedom, thus further raising people’s negative emotions [ 28 , 29 ]. Health-unrelated factors like the economic and political impact, media coverage, and government responses also served as drivers of expressions of emotion [ 30 , 31 ]. However, it is worth noting that during public health emergencies, if there is no better or more convenient offline way to vent emotions, it is expected that people will turn to social media [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 32 , 33 ].…”