The vaccine on Instagram: study of emotions expressed in the Brazilian context

Abstract

With the emergence of Covid-19, discussions on vaccines caused greater repercussions around the world. In social networks, spaces where different publics produce content and express their perceptions and interests, publications about immunizers have become major topics of public debate. In this article, we aim to identify and analyze the feelings and emotions expressed about the vaccine and vaccination processes in the Brazilian context in 2020 and 2021. To this end, we take as an empirical cut-out a random sample built from public posts on the topic on Instagram, collected through the Crowdtangle graphical interface. The process of classification and identification of emotions is performed from the standardized descriptors of the Human-Machine Interaction Network on Emotion (HUMAINE), followed by adoption of the circumplex model (Core Affect Model) of Russell (2003). As a result, data analyses point to the prevalence of positive emotions such as hope and trust regarding the vaccine in the Brazilian scenario, while negative emotions such as disapproval and concern are identified in the corpus relating to contextual factors (the figure of then-president Jair Bolsonaro, his speeches and actions, as well as the advancement of Covid-19 and emergence of new variants).