Researchers are working on a way to better support people living with mental health concerns by analysing their social media posts.
Dr Usman Naseem is a lecturer in data science at James Cook University who led a study applying a new technique designed to find early warnings of mental health distress in online posts.
Dr Naseem said mental health conditions had emerged as a pressing global concern, with more than one in 100 deaths attributed to suicide.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made this worse, leading to a notable increase in conditions such as depression and anxiety, which now affect more than one billion people worldwide,” he says. “This results in a substantial burden on health-care systems and society and means there’s an urgent need for easier and innovative approaches to addressing mental health concerns.”
Language markers reveal changing moods
The popularity of user-generated text as a valuable tool on social media platforms in particular has offered a rich source of data to researchers – and because of the open and candid way many social media users tend to express themselves, it inspired Dr Naseem to find ways to take a closer look at changing patterns in mental health.
“By distinguishing changes in sentiment, identifying specific language markers, and detecting behavioural anomalies, researchers can spot potential risk factors for mental health conditions,” Dr Naseem says.
Language markers in the context of social media and mental health research, he says, “often refer to specific patterns or features in the text that can indicate certain mental states or behaviours”.
“These markers can be words, phrases, or even patterns of language use. In the context of my work, our technique considers not just the content of the posts but also the temporal context and irregularities in posting behaviour,” he told EducationDaily. “This approach allows the system to capture more nuanced information about a user’s mental health condition over time, which can potentially lead to more accurate identification of at-risk users.”
Data-driven mental health surveillance aims to improve responses
Mental health surveillance on social media is done by researchers to understand mental health trends and is used to inform public health initiatives, improve treatment strategies, or even aid in developing tools that could provide early warning signs of mental health issues to individuals or healthcare providers.
Dr Naseem’s refined mental health surveillance technique was honed further by his team by considering historical posts, their timing and the interval between them.
“Accurately assessing the state of a user’s mind requires understanding the history of the user’s mental health condition. We comprehensively considered both historical posts and the diverse time intervals between them, so we could gather more accurate and nuanced assessments of a person’s mental well-being,” Dr Naseem says.
Social media’s valuable insights offer early intervention opportunities
The approach effectively captured the context of users’ historical posts and irregularities in the time they posted, with results that, Dr Naseem says, shows the new method surpasses current state-of-the-art approaches in mental health surveillance on social media.
“We think it will provide valuable insights for mental health professionals and researchers in monitoring and supporting individuals in need,” Dr Naseem says, adding that once potential mental health concerns are identified through this technique, the next steps can vary.
“The primary goal is to provide insights that can inform mental health initiatives and treatment strategies,” Dr Naseem told EducationDaily.
“However, linking a person directly to a service is challenging due to privacy concerns and the need for a professional diagnosis. The research can aid in developing tools that provide early warning signs, which could encourage individuals to seek professional help. Ideally, we hope this information will become an efficient and effective way for clinicians to provide early intervention and support.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health support, help is available via Lifeline (24-hour crisis line): 13 11 14, Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au or Headspace: 1800 650 890 or headspace.org.au
