Abstract
The concept of sustainability has gone far beyond the issues of the sustainable management of natural and environmental resources. Nowadays, sustainability is part of the social sciences in a different way. The aim of this research was dual. Firstly, we analyzed the different contexts and areas of knowledge where this concept is used in society by using social listening on Twitter, one of the most popular social networks today. The sentiments of these conversations were rated to assess whether the feelings and perceptions of these conversations on the social network were positive or negative regarding the use of the concept. Also, we tested if these perceptions about the topic were attuned to other more formal fields, such as scientific research, or strategies followed nationally or internationally by agencies and organizations related to sustainability. The method used on this first part of the research consisted of an analysis of 15,000 tweets collected from Twitter using natural language processing (NLP) for clustering the main areas of knowledge of topics where the concept of sustainability was used, and the sentiment of these conversations on the social network. Secondly, we mapped the social network of users who generated or spread content regarding sustainability on Twitter within the period of observation. Social network analysis (SNA) focuses on the taxonomy of the network and its dynamics and identifies the most relevant players in terms of generation of conversation and also their referrers who spread their messages worldwide. For this purpose, we used Gephi, an open source software used for network analysis and visualization, that allows for the exploration and visualization of large networks of any kind, in depth. The findings of this research are new, not only because of the mix of technology and methods used for extracting data from Twitter and analyzing them from different perspectives, but also because they show that social listening is a powerful method for analyzing relevant social phenomena. Listening on social networks can be used more effectively than other more traditional processes to gather data that are more costly and time consuming and lack the momentum and spontaneity of digital conversations.
Highlights
Sustainability is the quality of the sustainable
We focused on two main hypotheses that were relevant for the analysis of the concept of sustainability on social media
This research represents a novelty as, to our knowledge, it is the first investigation that analyzed the concept of sustainability in depth using social listening on Twitter, one of the most relevant social networks today
Summary
Sustainability is the quality of temporal continuity, without altering its specific properties, and can be associated with multiple natural, social, political, or economic phenomena. The most widespread and well-known concept associated with sustainability is “sustainable development”, introduced by the UN in 1987 [1]. The concept was used in relation to Young’s [2] discussion of the enclosure movement in the early 19th century [3], in which sustainability and productivity were associated with the development of private institutions and initiatives. Sustainability appears as a novel criterion in the use of forest resources, through principles of sustainable management [4,5]. Sustainability appeared as a when the term “maximum sustainable production” was coined in Schaefer’s study of fisheries [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
