Text vs. Images: Understanding emotional expressions on social media during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Due to the global spread of COVID-19, people all around the world have been forced to change the way they communicate and interact with others. Keeping social distance and wearing masks helps prevent the spread of coronavirus, and also makes online social platforms increase in demand in an unprecedented way (Flynn, 2008). Prolonged social isolation during COVID-19 is likely to have negative effects on mental health and communication on an individual. Researchers have found evidence for caused and elevated anxiety disorders such as somatization, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorders and depression amongst individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic (Meikle, 2016). Numerous studies have found that people only show their “good side” and positive emotions on social media. How does social media reveal our anxiety disorders during Covid? Do emotions expressed in pictures match with its text content on social media? In this research, 500 most recent selfies from individual accounts between December 1st and 10th in 2021 from age ranges 13 to 55 years old were downloaded for the study. The study used IBM Watson tone analyzer and Sky-Biometry as tools for linguistic analysis and emotion detection. In addition, the research compared imagery and text content in social media as a function of emotional expression and methods.Keywords: Emotional Expressions, Communication, Social Media, COVID-19, Photography Posts, Text, Instagram, Social Network, Attention Theory, Mental Health