Trial Report The Pulse of Long COVID on Twitter: A Social Network Analysis, 2024, Kusuma & Suherman

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https://journalaim.com/Article/aim-28505

The Pulse of Long COVID on Twitter: A Social Network Analysis
Ikhwan Yuda Kusuma 1,2 , Suherman Suherman 3,4*

suherman@radenintan.ac.id
Abstract

Background:
Long coronavirus disease (COVID) is a complex and multifaceted health condition with a range of severe symptoms that can last for weeks or even months after the acute phase of the illness has passed. Employing social network analysis (SNA) can rapidly provide significant health information to communities related to long COVID. This study aimed to identify the key themes, most influential users, and overall sentiments in the Twitter discourse on long COVID.

Methods:
Data were collected from a Twitter search with the specific keywords “long COVID” from December 1, 2022, to February 22, 2023, using NodeXL Pro. Visualizations, including network graphs and key influencers, were created using Gephi, and sentiment analysis was conducted with Azure Machine.

Results:
In total, 119,185 tweets from 94325 users were related to long COVID. Top influencers include medical professionals, researchers, journalists, and public figures, with news media platforms as primary information sources; the most common hashtag was #longCOVID, indicating that it is a significant issue of concern among the Twitter community. In the sentiment analysis, most tweets were negative.

Conclusion:
The study highlights the importance of critically evaluating information shared by influential users and seeking out multiple sources of information when making health-related decisions. In addition, it emphasizes the value of examining social media conversations to understand public discourse on long COVID and suggests that future researchers could explore the role of social media in shaping public perceptions and behaviors related to health issues. Strategies for enhancing scientific journal engagement and influence in online discussions are discussed as well.

Keywords: Long COVID, Sentiment analysis, Social network analysis
Cite this article as: Yuda Kusuma I, Suherman S. The pulse of long COVID on twitter: a social network analysis. Arch Iran Med. 2024;27(1):36-43. doi: 10.34172/aim.2024.06

 

This is an odd conclusion that really misses the point. Without social media, Long Covid would be completely ignored. And yet they conclude to be wary of social media, and to defer to experts, who missed Long Covid entirely and are still largely dismissive of it. They don't seem to notice how exceptional this is, or that this is mainly driven by the patients, while the experts are mostly tut-tutting any discussion of it, especially on social media. The ones who do that simply don't use the community hashtags and speak only in their own filter bubbles.