Abstract
The use of contact-tracing apps to curb the spreading of the Covid-19 pandemic has stimulated social media debates on consumers’ privacy concerns about the use and storage of sensitive data and on conspiracy theories positing that these apps are part of plans against individuals’ freedom. By analyzing the type of language of tweets, we found which words, linguistic style, and emotions conveyed by tweets are more likely to be associated with consumers’ privacy concerns and conspiracy theories and how they affect virality. To do so, we analyze a set of 5615 tweets related to the Italian tracing app “Immuni”. Results suggest that consumers’ privacy concerns and conspiracy theories belong to different domains and exert different effects on the virality of tweets. Furthermore, the characteristics of the text (namely, complexity, certainty and emotions) cue different Twitter users’ behaviors. This study helps researchers and managers to infer the psychological mechanisms that lead people to spread tweets about privacy concerns and conspiracy theories as well as how these texts impact the user who receives it.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Psychology and Marketing |
Early online date | 13 Jul 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Early online - 13 Jul 2021 |
Keywords
- privacy concerns
- consumer privacy
- conspiracy theory
- virality
- contact-tracing apps