Principles of Forming a Strategy for Reducing the Psychological Tension of Social Network Users

The purpose of the study was to develop principles of a strategy for influencing the psychological state of social network users using the example of the Russian-language segment of Twitter, one of the reasons for which is the lack of awareness about aspects of the coronavirus infection.

In contrast to the existing works on mood management and Emotion Regulation Strategies, there are principles based not on emotional regulation (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), but on information processing of the content of social media messages and forums.

The objective of the study was to develop principles of a strategy for reducing the psychological tension of social network users (further – Strategy) based on the Russian-language segment of Twitter.

The proposed research methodology includes a study of the discussion field in the active forum of the Runet (the qualitative aspect of emotionality as a reflection of psychological tension) and the Russian-language segment of Twitter (the quantitative aspect of terminology frequency). The qualitative research consisted in isolating the sensitive words used by vaccine opponents to describe their beliefs. A multi-stage methodology has been developed for the meaningful analysis of Twitter users’ messages.

. The result of the study is a methodology for developing principles of the Strategy. Based on this methodology, the following aspects of the problem have been developed: 1) the principle of clarifying the definition of psychological tension; 2) the principle of comparing the user and scientific meanings of terms, taking into account the contexts of their use; 3) the principle of contextual comparison of the user’s and scientific meanings of the term; 4) the principle of visual popularization of scientific knowledge.

An original methodology was created for developing principles of the Strategy. In contrast to the existing works on mood management and Emotion Regulation Strategies, there are principles based not on emotional regulation (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression [1]), but on information processing of the content of social media messages and forums.

A new approach to reducing the psychological tension of social media users can contribute to sharing timely, accurate and positive information about COVID-19, and reduce excessive discussions about COVID-19, which can positively affect the psychological well-being of the general public.