IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i3p1127-d488228.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Anxiety and Panic Buying Behaviour during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Qualitative Analysis of Toilet Paper Hoarding Contents on Twitter

Author

Listed:
  • Janni Leung

    (National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
    School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia)

  • Jack Yiu Chak Chung

    (National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
    School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia)

  • Calvert Tisdale

    (National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
    School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia)

  • Vivian Chiu

    (National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
    School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia)

  • Carmen C. W. Lim

    (National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
    School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia)

  • Gary Chan

    (National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia)

Abstract

Background : The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had increased population-level anxiety and had elicited panic buying behaviour across the world. The over-hoarding of toilet paper has received a lot of negative public attention. In this work, we used Twitter data to qualitatively analyse tweets related to panic buying of toilet paper during the crisis. Methods : A total of 255,171 tweets were collected. Of these 4081 met our inclusion criteria and 100 tweets were randomly selected to develop a coding scheme in the initial phase. Random samples of tweets in folds of 100 were then qualitatively analysed in the focused coding phase until saturation was met at 500 tweets analysed. Results : Five key themes emerged: (1) humour or sarcasm, (2) marketing or profiteering, (3) opinion and emotions, (4) personal experience, and (5) support or information. About half of the tweets carried negative sentiments, expressing anger or frustration towards the deficiency of toilet paper and the frantic situation of toilet paper hoarding, which were among the most influential tweets. Discussion : Panic buying of toilet paper was seen during the 2020 pandemic period with a mass amount of related content spread across social media. The spontaneous contagion of fear and panic through social media could fuel psychological reactions in midst of crises. The high level of negative social media posts regarding the toilet paper crisis acts as an emotional trigger of public anxiety and panic. Conclusions : Social media data can provide rapid infodemiology of public mental health. In a pandemic or crisis situation, real-time data could be monitored and content-analysed for authorities to promptly address public concerns.

Suggested Citation

  • Janni Leung & Jack Yiu Chak Chung & Calvert Tisdale & Vivian Chiu & Carmen C. W. Lim & Gary Chan, 2021. "Anxiety and Panic Buying Behaviour during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Qualitative Analysis of Toilet Paper Hoarding Contents on Twitter," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:3:p:1127-:d:488228
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/3/1127/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/3/1127/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cynthia Chew & Gunther Eysenbach, 2010. "Pandemics in the Age of Twitter: Content Analysis of Tweets during the 2009 H1N1 Outbreak," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(11), pages 1-13, November.
    2. Kirk, Colleen P. & Rifkin, Laura S., 2020. "I'll trade you diamonds for toilet paper: Consumer reacting, coping and adapting behaviors in the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 124-131.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Perera K.J.T. & Fernando P.I.N. & Ratnayake R.M.C.S. & Udawaththa U.D.I.C., 2021. "Consumer Behavior within the Covid-19 Pandemic A Systematic Review," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(12), pages 806-812, December.
    2. Olivia H. Tousignant & Sarah W. Hopkins & Abigail M. Stark & Gary D. Fireman, 2021. "Psychological Wellbeing, Worry, and Resilience-Based Coping during COVID-19 in Relation to Sleep Quality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Teyl Engstrom & Dolly O. Baliunas & Benjamin P. Sly & Anthony W. Russell & Peter J. Donovan & Heike K. Krausse & Clair M. Sullivan & Jason D. Pole, 2021. "Toilet Paper, Minced Meat and Diabetes Medicines: Australian Panic Buying Induced by COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-9, June.
    4. Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan & Yoshihiko Kadoya, 2023. "Who Became Victims of Financial Frauds during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Hao Chen & Alvin Lim, 2024. "The weakening pricing power of major brand over private label grocery products: evidence from a Dutch retailer," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(5), pages 396-405, October.
    6. Roland W. Scholz & Gerald Steiner, 2022. "The role of transdisciplinarity for mineral economics and mineral resource management: coping with fallacies related to phosphorus in science and practice," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 35(3), pages 745-763, December.
    7. Jesús Tomás Monge Moreno & Manuel Monge, 2023. "Consumer Sentiment in the United States and the Impact of Mental Disorders on Consumer Behavior—Time Trends and Persistence Analysis," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-10, July.
    8. Guohua He & Zirun Hu, 2022. "A Model of Panic Buying and Workforce under COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.
    9. Chen, Tinggui & Jin, Yumei & Yang, Jianjun & Cong, Guodong, 2022. "Identifying emergence process of group panic buying behavior under the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    10. Irineu de Brito Junior & Hugo Tsugunobu Yoshida Yoshizaki & Flaviane Azevedo Saraiva & Nathan de Campos Bruno & Roberto Fray da Silva & Celso Mitsuo Hino & Larissa Limongi Aguiar & Isabella Marrey Fer, 2023. "Panic Buying Behavior Analysis according to Consumer Income and Product Type during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-17, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    2. Karolina Werner-Lewandowsk & Piotr Lubinski & Jolanta Sloniec, 2021. "The Effect of Covid-19 on Consumer Behavior in Poland - Preliminary Research Results," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 1), pages 405-416.
    3. Humaira Kamal Pasha, 2024. "Smart access and smart protection for welfare gain in Europe during COVID‐19: An empirical investigation using real‐time data," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(1), pages 41-66, January.
    4. Xie, Junyi & Ifie, Kemefasu & Gruber, Thorsten, 2022. "The dual threat of COVID-19 to health and job security – Exploring the role of mindfulness in sustaining frontline employee-related outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 216-227.
    5. Jemey, Nursyuhada binti & Kasim, Nor Hasniah binti, 2023. "The Impact of Covid-19 on Consumption Patterns Among Malaysian Youths," MPRA Paper 118841, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 26 Sep 2023.
    6. Nisar, Sobia & Shafiq, Muhammad, 2019. "Framework for efficient utilisation of social media in Pakistan's healthcare sector," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 31-43.
    7. Luis-Millán González & José Devís-Devís & Maite Pellicer-Chenoll & Miquel Pans & Alberto Pardo-Ibañez & Xavier García-Massó & Fernanda Peset & Fernanda Garzón-Farinós & Víctor Pérez-Samaniego, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Sport in Twitter: A Quantitative and Qualitative Content Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-20, April.
    8. Peluso, Alessandro M. & Pichierri, Marco & Pino, Giovanni, 2021. "Age-related effects on environmentally sustainable purchases at the time of COVID-19: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    9. Han, Chunjia & Yang, Mu & Piterou, Athena, 2021. "Do news media and citizens have the same agenda on COVID-19? an empirical comparison of twitter posts," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    10. Boonyanit Mathayomchan & Viriya Taecharungroj & Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil, 2023. "Evolution of COVID-19 tweets about Southeast Asian Countries: topic modelling and sentiment analyses," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(3), pages 317-334, September.
    11. Tarek Ben Hassen & Hamid El Bilali & Mohammad S. Allahyari & Sinisa Berjan & Darjan Karabašević & Adriana Radosavac & Goran Dašić & Ružica Đervida, 2021. "Preparing for the Worst? Household Food Stockpiling during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    12. Elanor Colleoni & Nuccio Ludovico & Illia Laura & Ravindran Kiron, 2021. "Does Sharing Economy Have a Moral Capital? Comparing Semantic Networks in Social Media and News Media," Journal of Management and Sustainability, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(2), pages 1-1, December.
    13. Nanath, Krishnadas & Balasubramanian, Sreejith & Shukla, Vinaya & Islam, Nazrul & Kaitheri, Supriya, 2022. "Developing a mental health index using a machine learning approach: Assessing the impact of mobility and lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    14. Pantano, Eleonora & Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios & Devereux, Luke & Pizzi, Gabriele, 2021. "Tweets to escape: Intercultural differences in consumer expectations and risk behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown in three European countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 59-69.
    15. Cindy Cheng & Joan Barceló & Allison Spencer Hartnett & Robert Kubinec & Luca Messerschmidt, 2020. "COVID-19 Government Response Event Dataset (CoronaNet v.1.0)," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(7), pages 756-768, July.
    16. Bruce Forrester, 2020. "Authentic chatter," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 382-411, December.
    17. Greyling, Talita & Rossouw, Stephanie & Adhikari, Tamanna, 2020. "Happiness-lost: Did Governments make the right decisions to combat Covid-19?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 556, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Ratten, Vanessa & da Silva Braga, Vitor Lélio & da Encarnação Marques, Carla Susana, 2021. "Sport entrepreneurship and value co-creation in times of crisis: The covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 265-274.
    19. Monika Imschloss & Martin Schwemmle, 2024. "Value creation in post-pandemic retailing: a conceptual framework and implications," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 94(6), pages 851-889, August.
    20. Hongzhou Shen & Yue Ju & Zhijing Zhu, 2023. "Extracting Useful Emergency Information from Social Media: A Method Integrating Machine Learning and Rule-Based Classification," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-20, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:3:p:1127-:d:488228. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.