The Price and Value of Fear
Source: ONLINE ACTIVITY RELATED TO “NEW JERSEY DRONES” INCREASES BY 1900% WITH “FEAR” AS THE DOMINANT EMOTION
Excerpts:
Given the virality of the New Jersey drone story and the tendency for unusual events to affect the tone of discourse around these events, this study seeks to explore two critical dimensions of the event. Specifically, it will evaluate the extent to which the drone story has spread online and examine the emotional and psychological impact on the online public. In doing so, two key research questions will be considered:
Research Question 1: How extensive was online activity related to the New Jersey drone story?
Research Question 2: What was the sentiment/emotion of online content related to the New Jerseydrone story?
To capture social media discussions, this study utilized Brandwatch, a leading social listening tool designed to monitor andanalyze online conversations across various platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Instagram,YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit. Prior to creating a search query, the researchers conducted exploratory research across these platforms to identify the most commonly used keywords andphrases related to the New Jersey drone story.
Terms such as “drones in New Jersey,” “drone sightings in New Jersey,” “flying objects in New Jersey,” and “mysterious drones” were identified and used to create a search query on Brandwatch.The data collection focused on the period from November 26 to December 13, 2024, a time frame selected due to notable surges in social media discussions during this period. Brandwatch'scapabilities allowed the researchers to gather a wide range of posts, comments, and mentions associated with the drone sightings, providing insights into public sentiment and key themes in theonline discourse. Second, a trend analysis was utilized to evaluate search behavior online. Google Trends analysis was employed to see if the New Jersey drone story had affected broader internet search behavior. A key feature of Google Trends analysis is that it allows for identification of items of interest for internet users.
RQ 1: How extensive was online activity related to the New Jersey drone story?
Between November 26 and December 13, online conversation surged to 170,000 mentions (with93,000 unique discussions) across social media platforms, marking an astronomical 19,000% increase compared to the prior period, which saw just 878 posts. A dramatic spike in activity occurred on December 11, with discussions increasing nearly 800% from the previous day. X emerged as the dominant platform, accounting for 86% of social discussions, leading the discussions surrounding the unidentified drones in New Jersey. The focus of these heated exchanges involved a series of mysterious drones reportedly flying over New Jersey, sparking intense speculation andconflicting statements from officials.
RQ 2: What was the sentiment/emotion of online content related to the New Jersey drone story?
The emotions expressed in social media posts related to the mysterious drone activity over New Jersey were overwhelmingly dominated by fear, which accounted for 45% of the identified emotions. When combined with disgust, the two emotions together accounted for 83% of the overall sentiment. The ongoing saga of the drones triggered widespread concern over national security and public safety. Many users expressed fear about the potential threats posed by the drones, including surveillance of U.S. Coast Guard vessels, suspicious activities attributed to "non-human intelligence," the possibility of terrorist attacks at mass gatherings, the spraying of unidentified materials, and surveillance of sensitive locations such as military bases, residential areas, and federal buildings.
Search activity for the word “drone” increased by 1900% from the period before the firstsighting of a drone in New Jersey. Brandwatch data confirms this spike with over 116,000 posts onX (formerly Twitter) appearing in this period. Noteworthy also is the geolocation of search activity. The state searching for “drone” most regularly was New Jersey.