What does the current COVID-19 situation do to our interpersonal communication? Are people during the pandemic accusatory or rather reasonable in dealing with each other. The Italian AI company Sociometrica and Expert System is now using its artificial intelligence to extract emotions and feelings from more than 60,000 social media posts to collect a semantic analysis of people’s feelings during the coronavirus crisis.
The AI-supported system always collects the data in the same time frame, which it gets mainly from Twitter, searches for special hashtags, such as #covid19 #stayhome #isolationlife and interprets the data every 24 hours to the underlying emotions.
This effort is particularly important in order to optimally control communication during the crisis and to document the current mood of the population. Only when you have a seamless picture of the current situation can you really communicate in a target group-oriented manner and achieve positive results.
According to Walt Mayo, CEO of Sociometrica at Forbes, the results so far show that fear and concern around COVID-19 dominate communication in social media. However, not only concern and criticism of some current activities can be registered, but also an increasing gratitude towards the helpers and helpers is becoming stronger and stronger. They are setting a sign of hope in these uncertain times.
The results show how relevant a well thought-out communication strategy is, especially in times of crisis. If the tools are used correctly, a lot can be achieved, while neglecting the needs and emotions of the population can contribute to more resentment and fear. Politicians, companies and institutions should therefore include such data in their press conferences, announcements and publications to reach people effectively.
