Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

Twitter Posts Can Reveal How Lonely You Are: Study

Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 Nov, 2019 09:20 PM
  • Twitter Posts Can Reveal How Lonely You Are: Study

Researchers have found that users who tweet on loneliness are much more likely to write about mental well-being issues and things like struggles with relationships, substance use and insomnia on Twitter.


By applying linguistic analytic models to tweets, researchers were able to gain an insight into the topics and themes that could be associated with loneliness.


"Loneliness can be a slow killer, as some of the medical problems associated with it can take decades to manifest," said the study's lead author Sharath Chandra Guntuku, from University of Pennsylvania in the US.


"If we are able to identify lonely individuals and intervene before the health conditions associated with the themes we found begin to unfold, we have a change to help those much earlier in their lives. This could be very powerful and have long-lasting effects on public health," Guntuku said.


By determining typical themes and linguistic markers posted to social media that are associated with people who are lonely, the team has uncovered some of the ingredients necessary to construct a 'loneliness' prediction system.


As part of the study, published in the journal BMJ, researchers analysed public accounts from users based in Pennsylvania and found that 6,202 accounts used words such as 'lonely' or 'alone' more than five times between 2012 and 2016.


Comparing the entire Twitter timelines of these users to a matched group who did not have such language included their posts, the researchers showed that 'lonely' users tweeted nearly twice as much and were much more likely to do so at night.


When the tweets were analysed via several different linguistic analytic models, the users who posted about loneliness had an extremely high association with anger, depression and anxiety, when compared to the 'non-lonely' group.


Additionally, the lonely groups were significantly associated with tweeting about struggles with relationships (for example, using phrases like 'want somebody' or 'no one to') and substance use ('smoke,' 'weed,' and 'drunk')


"On Twitter, we found lonely users expressing a need for social support, and it appears that the use of expletives and the expression of anger is a sign of that being unfulfilled," Guntuku said.


Users in the group that didn't post about loneliness seemed to display some social connections, as they were found to be more likely to engage in conversations, especially by including others' user names (using '@twitter_handle') in their tweets.


In the future, the researchers hope to develop a better measure of the different dimensions of loneliness that online users are feeling and expressing.

MORE Tech ARTICLES

Gift Guide: How To Choose A Tablet From The Vast Array Of iOS, Android And Windows Choices

Gift Guide: How To Choose A Tablet From The Vast Array Of iOS, Android And Windows Choices
Time for a tablet? People tend to hold onto tablets longer than smartphones, so take time to weigh your options. A major consideration is what phone you or your gift recipient already has.

Gift Guide: How To Choose A Tablet From The Vast Array Of iOS, Android And Windows Choices

Unboxing Videos On The Rise, Freezing That Big Reveal Of Anything From New Phone To Happy Meal

Unboxing Videos On The Rise, Freezing That Big Reveal Of Anything From New Phone To Happy Meal
NEW YORK — Rrrrip goes the packing tape and squeak goes the protective foam. Are there sweeter, more seductive sounds than the opening of a new toy or gadget?

Unboxing Videos On The Rise, Freezing That Big Reveal Of Anything From New Phone To Happy Meal

Most Internet Users Know What A Hashtag Is, But Are Less Clear On How Internet Works

Most Internet Users Know What A Hashtag Is, But Are Less Clear On How Internet Works
A new Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday found most people can recognize Microsoft founder Bill Gates and know that hashtags belong in tweets, but are confused about whether having a privacy policy means that a company actually keeps consumer information confidential.

Most Internet Users Know What A Hashtag Is, But Are Less Clear On How Internet Works

Hidden computer virus found after six years

Hidden computer virus found after six years
Computer security firm Symantec has discovered a hidden virus that has been spying on computers across the globe, including in India, for at least six years....

Hidden computer virus found after six years

Viber launches Public Chats in India

Viber launches Public Chats in India
Buoyed by the fast growing number of users in India, the mobile communications app, Viber, offering free messaging and calls, Tuesday launched new...

Viber launches Public Chats in India

5G services for super-fast internet in the offing

5G services for super-fast internet in the offing
Researchers are now close to finding how software-defined cellular networking might be used to give smartphone users the next generation of super-superfast broadband - 5G....

5G services for super-fast internet in the offing