#MaskOn! #MaskOff! Digital polarization of mask-wearing in the United States during COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused an unprecedented public health crisis worldwide. Its intense politicization constantly made headlines, especially regarding the use of face masks as a safety precaution. However, the extent to which public opinion is polarized on wearing masks has remained anecdotal and the verbal representation of this polarization has not been explored. This study examined the types, themes, temporal trends, and exchange patterns of hashtags about mask wearing posted from March 1 to August 1, 2020 by Twitter users based in the United States. On the one hand, we found a stark rhetorical polarization in terms of semantic antagonism between pro- and anti-mask hashtags, exponential frequency increases of both types of hashtags during the period under study,

SUBMITTER: Lang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8081244 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature