Themes and Sentiments of Online Comments Under COVID-19: A Case Study of Macau

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the comments posted in two popular channels on YouTube (February to July 2020) that reveal Macau people’s concerns and feelings under the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the themes elaborated and sentiments expressed. By themes, Macau people showed their concerns on the epidemic situation, economy, the problems it caused, and how the government reacted to the epidemic. In addition, the theme on Mainland China evolved around whether the Central Government would help Macau carry through this pandemic. Moreover, the sentiment results represent Macau people’s worries and uncertainty towards the pandemic. Our study casts light on understanding the living condition of people being confronted with the epidemic in terms of their linguistic behaviour. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.