COVID-19 and the Gendered Use of Emojis on Twitter: Infodemiology Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND This study explores how people of different genders (e.g. men, women, and sex and gender minorities) are discussed in relation to COVID-19 through Twitter emojis. We collected over 50 million tweets referencing the hashtags #Covid-19 and #Covid19 for a period of more than two months in early 2020. OBJECTIVE This study focuses on how people of different genders (e.g. men, women, and sex and gender minorities) are discussed in relation to COVID-19 through Twitter emojis. It asks the following research question: What are the gendered types of sentiments and meanings expressed with emojis with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic and how does emoji use differ when associated with different genders? We argue, that by exploring how the experiences of men, women, and sex and gender minorities in relation to COVID-19 are discussed using emojis, we can understand how emoji use represents and/or perpetuates (often inequitable) gender norms, roles, and relations in response to COVID-19, as well as how the pandemic may be impacting gender differently. Thus, analysis of emojis can provide a new methodological approach for rapid gender analysis in crisis settings, complementing more traditional forms of gender analysis through surveys or interviews. METHODS Using a mixed method, we first extracted three datasets containing tweets that reference men, women, and sexual/gender minorities and then we analysed emoji use along each gender category. RESULTS We identified five major themes in our analysis including: (1) morbidity fears, (2) health concerns, (3) employment and financial issues, (4) praise for frontline workers, and (5) unique gendered emoji use. Further, results indicate that the majority of emojis are overwhelmingly positive in nature along the different genders, but sexual and gender minorities, and to a lesser extent women, are discussed more negatively than men. CONCLUSIONS This study examined the gendered use of emojis on Twitter in relation to COVID-19, and the findings showed many differences alongside discourses of men, women, and gender minorities when certain topics were discussed such as death, financial and employment matters, gratitude, and health care, while there are several unique gendered emojis that are used to express specific issues like community support. In general, emojis are positively associated with men while more negatively connected to sexual/gender minorities and to a lesser extent women. CLINICALTRIAL N/A

The pragmatic functions of emojis in Arabic tweets

“…Also, it was found that gender affects emoji use as Loudly Crying Face was the emoji used most by the women studied, while Face with Tears of Joy was the one used most by males. In addition, certain emojis were used by males only and vice versa, consistent with Wirza et al (2019), Al Rashdi (2018), and Al-Rawi et al (2020. Moreover, men tend to use emojis more widely at different positions in their tweets, while women never use them at the beginning of their tweets.…”

“…Therefore, this study provides evidence that Twitter is typically used to discuss the latest trends in society. In addition, Al-Rawi et al (2020) explored the effect of gender on emoji usage during the COVID pandemic. The data were collected from Twitter hashtags related to COVID-19, from which 600 emojis were collected and analyzed to understand the sentiment of each emoji.…”