Understanding how emotions ripple after terrorist acts
The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing motivated mass expressions of fear,
solidarity, and sympathy toward Bostonians on social media networks around the
world. In a recently released study, researchers at the University of
Pittsburgh and Cornell University analyzed emotional reactions on Twitter in
the hours and weeks following the attack.
The
study is the first large-scale analysis of fear and social-support reactions
from geographically distant communities following a terrorist attack. The
findings show the extent to which communities outside of Boston expressed their
emotions by using hashtags such as #PrayForBoston and how those reactions
correlated with geographic proximity, social-network connections, and direct
ties to Boston.
The
full results of the study, which have been published online in the journal EPJ Data Science, may provide insight to
governmental agencies exploring how to best handle public fear following a
disruptive event.
"By
swiftly recognizing the heightened presence of fear as a result of occurrences
elsewhere, officials within a city can respond appropriately with various
measures to calm the public and reassure them that all measures are being taken
to ensure public safety and well-being."
The
study is unique in that previous studies of emotional responses to terror
attacks have only focused on those in directly affected areas. For the Pitt-led
study, researchers analyzed more than 180 million geocoded tweets from
individuals in 95 cities around the world. Researchers focused their analysis
on the 60 most-populated metropolitan areas in the United States as well as the
35 highest-populated cities outside of the United States.
To
study expressions of fear, Lin's team utilized content-analysis programs to
search for a predetermined set of keywords -- including "fearful,"
"fatal," and "terror," -- within tweets directly related to
the bombing.
The study also utilized Twitter hashtags to identify tweets
reflecting expressions of solidarity and sympathy. Researchers found that
citizens in some cities were more likely to express specific emotions based on
geography and shared experiences.
The
hashtag #PrayForBoston -- a variant of the #PrayFor{X} hashtags that have been
used in recent years following various tragic events -- was used to identify
expressions of sympathy. Citizens in the city of London were modest in their
expressions of fear and solidarity but were more forthcoming in their use of
the #PrayForBoston hashtag.
Lin and her team theorized that the greater show of
sympathy from Londoners was due to the citizens of London having endured their
own terrorist attacks in the recent past and therefore relating to the sense of
tragedy that Boston's citizens were enduring.
The
hashtag #BostonStrong -- a variant of the #{X}strong hashtags made popular by
Lance Armstrong's Livestrong motto and the U.S. Army's "Army Strong"
media campaign -- was used to measure expressions of solidarity.
Expressions of
solidarity were used most by citizens in U.S. cities that possess close geographic
proximity and have similar cultural identities as Boston. For instance,
citizens in Chicago and Washington, D.C., were more likely to express emotions
of solidarity due to their relative closeness in distance and personal ties
with Boston.
"Our
findings suggest that the immediate emotional reactions on social media are
indicators of deeper feelings of connection to suffering in other communities
that linger," said Drew Margolin, Lin's collaborator and an assistant
professor of communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at
Cornell University.
"In the future, this may have implications for
anticipating how communities will respond to shocking events beyond terrorist
attacks, such as school shootings, natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy, or
incidents like those that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri."
According
to the study's overall findings, the extent to which communities outside of the
Boston metropolitan area expressed emotional reactions to the attack directly
correlated with individuals' geographic proximities, social network connections
to Boston residents, and relationships to the city of Boston.
Furthermore,
reactions of fear were the most likely of sentiments to be expressed by
individuals with direct ties to Boston or to Bostonians. The extent to which
individuals had ties to the Boston area was the best predictor of fear and
solidarity expression as well as a strong predictor of an expression of
sympathy.
The
paper "The ripple of fear, sympathy and solidarity during the Boston
bombings" is available online in EPJ
Data Science.
Story Source:
The
above story is based on materials provided
by University of Pittsburgh. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Yu-Ru
Lin, Drew Margolin. The ripple of fear, sympathy and solidarity during the
Boston bombings. EPJ
Data Science, 2014; 3 (1): 31 DOI:10.1140/epjds/s13688-014-0031-z
Cite This Page:
University
of Pittsburgh. "Understanding how emotions ripple after terrorist
acts." Science Daily, 11 December
2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141211142616.htm>.
