Online Attitudes and Information-Seeking Behavior on Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Greta Thunberg

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine Internet trends data and sentiment in tweets mentioning autism, Asperger syndrome, and Greta Thunberg during 2019. We used mixed methods in analyzing sentiment and attitudes in viral tweets and collected 1074 viral tweets on autism that were published in 2019 (tweets that got more than 100 likes). The sample from Twitter was compared with search patterns on Google. In 2019, Asperger syndrome was closely connected to Greta Thunberg, as of the tweets specifically mentioning Asperger (from the total sample of viral tweets mentioning autism), 83% also mentioned Thunberg. In the sample of tweets about Thunberg, the positive sentiment expressed that Greta Thunberg was a role model, whereas the tweets that expressed the most negativity used her diagnosis against her and could be considered as cyberbullying. The Google Trends data also showed that Thunberg was closely connected to search patterns on Asperger syndrome in 2019. The study showed that being open about health information while being an active participant in controversial debates might be used against you but also help break stigmas and stereotypes.

Keywords: Asperger syndrome; Google Trends; Twitter messaging; autism spectrum disorders; content analysis; public health; sentiment analysis; social media.

Figure 1

Graph showing the mean of the sentiment of the whole sample of tweets for each month of 2019.

Figure 2

Median monthly likes of the total sample during 2019.

Figure 3

Median monthly shares of the total sample during 2019.

Figure 4

Median monthly comments of the total sample during 2019.

Figure 5

The Five Largest Categories of Tweets Mentioning Greta Thunberg. This figure illustrates the five largest categories of tweets mentioning Greta Thunberg, leaving out the category “Unable to understand tweet” (1 tweet). The colors in green tones indicate a positive attitude/sentiment, whereas the red tones a negative attitude/sentiment.

Figure 6

The Seven Largest Categories of Tweets Mentioning Asperger. This figure illustrates the seven largest categories of tweets specifically mentioning Asperger, leaving out the categories “Asperger is not an excuse” (1 tweet), “Informative about Asperger” (1 tweet), “Reaching out to a celebrity” (1 tweet), and “Unable to understand tweet” (2 tweets). The colors in green tones indicate a positive attitude/sentiment whereas the red tones a negative attitude/sentiment. Blue means neutral.

Figure 7

Google search pattern on Autism.

Figure 8

Google search pattern on Autism spectrum disorder.

Figure 9

Google search pattern on Asperger syndrome.

Figure 10

Google search pattern on Greta Thunberg.