Date Time Essential workers’ tweets show surprising positivity during pandemic A team of researchers from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology explored whether the COVID-19 pandemic had a greater impact on the well-being of essential workers, and if they turned to media to tell about it. Their finding that tweets from essential workers across all topics being more positive than general users highlights a trend that started before the pandemic and has remained consistent since. Image: Adobe Stock: Groenning During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people turned to social media platforms to share their feelings about the changes happening in the world around them. Essential workers – such as medical providers, retail and food service employees, and public transportation workers – tweeted less often than general users about COVID-19 but more about overall mental health issues, according to researchers at the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology.