Text emotion analysis in aquaculture communication via Twitter: The case of Spain

Abstract

Public acceptance arises as one of the main defiance in aquaculture. This situation is especially relevant in regions of the global north such as Europe or North America, where social acceptability is conditioning the expansion of this industry production capacity and the development of markets for aquaculture products. Understanding not only consumer perceptions, but also other collectives’ insights is the first step to build sectoral strategies that focus and communicate benefits and combat myths, leading to greater social acceptability. Information disseminated through social networks represents a great opportunity to analyze large amounts of information disclosed by involved stakeholders. Unlike most studies focused on consumer perception, this study conducts a sentiment analysis of the communication released on Twitter by different stakeholders related to aquaculture in Spain: producers, specialized media, associations and research centers. The analysis is carried out using the TwitteR package of the R software, which provides direct communication through an Application Programming Interface (API), and its nrc lexicon. Results show significant differences among stakeholders’ profiles, showing that trust, negative and positive words are prevalent in the tweets of all stakeholders. This study shows an underutilization of the potential of the social network, and a more effective communication by specialized media profiles. The use that these profiles give to social networks is an example that shows producers and policy makers the benefits that can be derived from a professionalized communication of aquaculture through social networks, not only to consumers but also to society as a whole.