Can Twitter diagnose mental health issues?

By: Dorian Jenkins

Computer scientists are analyzing tweets from Twitter to gather information on the prevalence of common mental illnesses. Researchers at John Hopkins University in Baltimore say their new computer program can sift through volumes of publicly available postings on Twitter and detect certain language cues associated with particular disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and seasonal affective disorder.
One benefit of discovering mental health data via Twitter posts is that the analysis of the information can be delivered to medical professionals much quicker and cheaper than the current, traditional methods. The data on mental illness trends discovered during a Twitter search can provide information for specific geographical areas, which would be handy for public health officials and medical providers during times that follow natural and man-made disasters. When someone tweets from their phone, the emergency teams are able to track down that phone quickly due to the GPS installed in smart phones.
As the researchers put their new system to the test it revealed a prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among military personnel at United States armed service installations that regularly deployed combat troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.  It also detected Tweets indicating higher than normal symptoms of depression in areas where unemployment was high. The importance of this information is to help diagnose the disorders of someone that may need help. A Seckman High School junior, Taylor Wucher, says, “I think that this new program is a good thing because it can eventually help people in the future that may need it and it is a great use of the technology we have in our world.”
The Johns Hopkins scientists evaluated over eight billion tweets in developing their computer program; this program will look for specific words or language patterns in the tweets. For example, if information regarding disorders such as insomnia or anxiety is desired, the program would search through tweets and look for words, such as, “I really don’t want to get out of bed today,” or, “I am feeling really sad today.”
“Using Twitter to get a fix on mental health cases could be very helpful to health practitioners and governmental officials who need to decide where counseling and other care is needed most,” says Mark Dredze, an assistant research professor at the Whiting School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science.
The privacy of the people that were tweeting was also a major concern with the new program. However, the program does not show the names of the people that are tweeting; therefore it keeps the users private. A Seckman High School senior, Brittany Drumm, says, “I believe that as long as the program is used for the right reasons, then there should be no concern of privacy because your profile is not shown.”
Overall, the tweets that have been uploaded to social media are actually helping researchers and doctors around the world to discover new mental health issues.