Mapping Netizen Perception on COVID-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Study of Policy Integration for Pandemic Response in Bandung City

Abstract

Social media is a product of technological advances that can influence how problems are formulated and act as a trigger for social change. Social media can provide data and act as a tool for policymakers to determine the effectiveness and acceptability of the current policy model, including the policy for handling COVID-19. Thus, this research analyzes the netizens’ opinions and responses regarding the policies for handling COVID-19 in Bandung City. Data was collected through the interaction of network data between users on social media to describe the interaction pattern between netizens on Twitter and YouTube about handling COVID-19 in Bandung City. The results revealed that most netizens highlighted the emerging policies in the health sector before moving to other sectors. The highlighted result was proven by the most frequently used word on social media that is vaccines. The research results also had limitations because they did not compare how other cities handled COVID-19 with Bandung City while collecting the data online through interactions and discussions. Keywords: policy integration, Netizen perception, COVID-19, social media, network visualization