UNDERSTANDING THE INITIAL REACTIONS OF TURKISH TWITTER USERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Year 2021, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 20 - 41, 01.01.2021

Azra Kardelen Nazlı , Celal Kocaömer , Miray Beşbudak , Nahit Erdem Köker

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the initial reactions of Turkish social media users to the spread of the COVID-19 disease and the consequent pandemic in Turkey. The primary purpose of this investigation is to provide readers with an understanding of the transformative effects of social media on the dissemination of information and feelings, especially in moments of crisis. Content analysis approach was used for the analysis of the selected tweets with codes and themes. The themes broadly identified by the study included personal opinions, humour or sarcasm, requests and questions, emotional state, information sharing, marketing and spam. The initial reactions of Turkish Twitter users on COVID-19 related primarily to sharing personal thoughts, which included the articulation of personal opinions and the critique of the views of others. The second significant response thread involved humour and sarcasm. The third theme is requests and questions including warnings, suggestions, demands and questions.

Keywords

social media, content analysis, crisis communication

Thanks

Acknowledgement: We are grateful to Ege University Planning and Monitoring Coordination of Organizational Development and Directorate of Library and Documantaion for their support in editing and proofreading service of this study.

UNDERSTANDING THE INITIAL REACTIONS OF TURKISH TWITTER USERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Türkiye'deki sosyal medya kullanıcılarının COVID-19 hastalığının yayılmasına ve bunun sonucunda ortaya çıkan pandemiye karşı ilk tepkilerini değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu araştırmanın temel amacı, okuyuculara, özellikle kriz anlarında sosyal medyanın bilgi ve duyguların yayılması üzerindeki dönüştürücü etkilerini anlamalarını sağlamaktır. Seçilen tweetlerin kod ve temalarla analizinde içerik analizi yaklaşımı kullanılmıştır. Çalışma ile geniş bir şekilde tanımlanan temalar arasında kişisel görüşler, mizah veya alay, istek ve sorular, duygusal durum, bilgi paylaşımı, pazarlama ve spam yer almaktadır. Türk Twitter kullanıcılarının COVID-19 hakkındaki ilk tepkileri, kişisel fikirlerin ifade edilmesi ve başkalarının görüşlerinin eleştirisini içeren kişisel düşüncelerin paylaşılmasıyla ilgilidir. İkinci önemli tepki dizisi mizah ve alay olarak saptanmış, üçüncü öne çıkan tema, uyarı, öneri, talep ve soruları içeren tweetler olarak bulunmuştur.

Keywords

sosyal medya, kriz iletişimi, içerik analizi

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