How Does Online Social Network Change My Mood? An Empirical Study of Depression Contagion On Social Network Sites Using Text-mining

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems among young adults, which is often associated with many other negative health and social problems. Despite numerous studies about depression and its transmission in the offline environment, there are few studies investigating how depression is transmitted on Social Network Sites (SNS). In this study, we build a new theory about depression contagion on SNS. We propose that negative (positive) contents can enhance (attenuate) users’ depression levels. Furthermore, two factors: communication specificity and tie strength are expected to moderate the relationship between content valence and depression level. We use sentiment analysis to measure content valence, and design a novel mixed approach to measure users’ depression symptoms and moods. The results of the study will help us find some methods to alleviate depression that may occur via communication on SNS.

[1]  Eric Gilbert,et al.  Predicting tie strength with social media , 2009, CHI.

[2]  Khim-Yong Goh,et al.  Social Media Brand Community and Consumer Behavior: Quantifying the Relative Impact of User- and Marketer-Generated Content , 2013, Inf. Syst. Res..

[3]  M. Olfson,et al.  Mental health of college students and their non-college-attending peers: results from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions. , 2008, Archives of general psychiatry.

[4]  Katariina Salmela-Aro,et al.  Is depression contagious? A test of alternative peer socialization mechanisms of depressive symptoms in adolescent peer networks. , 2012, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[5]  L. R. Starr,et al.  Frequency and Quality of Social Networking Among Young Adults: Associations With Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Corumination. , 2012, Psychology of popular media culture.

[6]  E. Brown,et al.  Adolescent substance abuse and psychiatric comorbidities. , 2006, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[7]  Mike Thelwall,et al.  Sentiment in short strength detection informal text , 2010 .

[8]  D. Eisenberg,et al.  Mental health problems and help-seeking behavior among college students. , 2010, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[9]  Mitchell J Prinstein,et al.  Moderators of Peer Contagion: A Longitudinal Examination of Depression Socialization Between Adolescents and Their Best Friends , 2007, Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53.

[10]  Sigal G. Barsade.  The Ripple Effect: Emotional Contagion and its Influence on Group Behavior , 2002 .

[11]  M. Prinstein,et al.  Beyond Homophily: A Decade of Advances in Understanding Peer Influence Processes. , 2011, Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence.

[12]  R. P. Gallagher,et al.  National Survey of Counseling Center Directors 2002 , 2001 .

[13]  Dimitri A. Christakis,et al.  A Pilot Evaluation of Associations Between Displayed Depression References on Facebook and Self-reported Depression Using a Clinical Scale , 2011, The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research.

[14]  S. Becker,et al.  Long-term semantic priming: a computational account and empirical evidence. , 1997, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[15]  Jeffrey T. Hancock,et al.  Expressing emotion in text-based communication , 2007, CHI.

[16]  Ian Hughes,et al.  Participation of older adults in cyberspace: How Australian older adults use the Internet , 2009, Australasian journal on ageing.

[17]  I. Gotlib,et al.  Handbook of Depression , 2011 .

[18]  G. Schoenewolf,et al.  Emotional contagion: Behavioral induction in individuals and groups. , 1990 .

[19]  D. Segal.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) , 2010 .

[20]  D. Marlowe,et al.  A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. , 1960, Journal of consulting psychology.

[21]  Jeffrey T. Hancock,et al.  I'm sad you're sad: emotional contagion in CMC , 2008, CSCW.

[22]  D. Watts,et al.  Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network1 , 2009, American Journal of Sociology.

[23]  B. Wellman,et al.  Different Strokes from Different Folks: Community Ties and Social Support , 1990, American Journal of Sociology.

[24]  Paul D. Bolls,et al.  The Effects of Message Valence and Listener Arousal on Attention, Memory, and Facial Muscular Responses to Radio Advertisements , 2001, Commun. Res..

[25]  Patti M. Valkenburg,et al.  Friend Networking Sites and Their Relationship to Adolescents' Well-Being and Social Self-Esteem , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[26]  N. Christakis,et al.  Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study , 2008, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[27]  Philip M. Podsakoff,et al.  Effects of group-level and individual-level variation in leader behaviours on subordinate attitudes and performance. , 1992 .

[28]  Malcolm R. Parks,et al.  Cues Filtered Out, Cues Filtered In: Computer-Mediated Communication and Relationships , 2002 .

[29]  G. S. O'Keeffe,et al.  The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families , 2011, Pediatrics.

[30]  Thomas E. Joiner,et al.  Contagion of Depressive Symptoms and Mood: Meta-analytic Review and Explanations From Cognitive, Behavioral, and Interpersonal Viewpoints , 2006 .

[31]  Mark S. Granovetter.  The Strength of Weak Ties , 1973, American Journal of Sociology.

[32]  E. Higgins,et al.  Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles. , 1996 .

[33]  Anke Bramesfeld,et al.  Possibilities for intervention in adolescents' and young adults' depression from a public health perspective. , 2006, Health policy.

[34]  Kevin Wallsten.  Political Blogs and the Bloggers Who Blog Them : Is the Political Blogosphere and Echo Chamber ? by , 2005 .

[35]  G. Clore,et al.  Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles , 1996 .

[36]  Shuk Ying Ho,et al.  Web Personalization as a Persuasion Strategy: An Elaboration Likelihood Model Perspective , 2005, Inf. Syst. Res..

[37]  J. Coyne,et al.  Toward an interactional description of depression. , 1976, Psychiatry.

[38]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? , 1998, The American psychologist.

[39]  Uma Rao,et al.  Characteristics, correlates, and outcomes of childhood and adolescent depressive disorders , 2009, Dialogues in clinical neuroscience.

[40]  J. Walther.  Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1992 .

[41]  Uma Rao,et al.  Links between depression and substance abuse in adolescents: neurobiological mechanisms. , 2006, American journal of preventive medicine.

[42]  G. Miller,et al.  Handbook of Interpersonal Communication , 1985 .

[43]  Lee Sproull,et al.  Reducing social context cues: electronic mail in organizational communication , 1986 .

[44]  M. Delsing,et al.  Different types of Internet use, depression, and social anxiety: the role of perceived friendship quality. , 2009, Journal of adolescence.

[45]  John T. Cacioppo,et al.  Emotional Contagion by Elaine Hatfield , 1993 .

[46]  Lillian Lee,et al.  Opinion Mining and Sentiment Analysis , 2008, Found. Trends Inf. Retr..

[47]  J. Coyne.  Depression and the response of others. , 1976, Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

[48]  K. Craig,et al.  Nonverbal communication deficits and response to performance feedback in depression. , 1977, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[49]  L. Wheeler,et al.  Review of personality and social psychology , 1980 .

[50]  Bethany A. Koestner,et al.  Depression, desperation, and suicidal ideation in college students: results from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention College Screening Project at Emory University , 2008, Depression and anxiety.

[51]  Larry D. Rosen,et al.  Is Facebook creating "iDisorders"? The link between clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders and technology use, attitudes and anxiety , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[52]  R. Aseltine,et al.  Depression and the social developmental context of adolescence. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[53]  Elizabeth D. Cox,et al.  Feeling bad on Facebook: depression disclosures by college students on a social networking site , 2011, Depression and anxiety.

[54]  T. Joiner,et al.  Contagious depression: existence, specificity to depressed symptoms, and the role of reassurance seeking. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[55]  Thomas E. Joiner,et al.  Contagious depression in dating couples. , 1999 .

[56]  Chuan He,et al.  Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs: A Strategic Analysis , 2009, Mark. Sci..

[57]  F. Strack,et al.  "Mood contagion": the automatic transfer of mood between persons. , 2000, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[58]  M J Howes,et al.  Induction of depressive affect after prolonged exposure to a mildly depressed individual. , 1985, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[59]  K. Goh,et al.  Social Media Brand Community and Consumer Behavior: Quantifying the Relative Impact of User- and Marketer-Generated Content , 2013 .

[60]  J. Burgoon,et al.  Nonverbal Communication , 2018, Dental Abstracts.

[61]  M. Moreno,et al.  "Facebook depression?" social networking site use and depression in older adolescents. , 2012, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[62]  Anatoliy A. Gruzd,et al.  Is Happiness Contagious Online? A Case of Twitter and the 2010 Winter Olympics , 2011, 2011 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[63]  Teague E. Simoncic,et al.  Facebook Depression Revisited: The Absence of an Association between Facebook Use and Depressive Symptoms , 2012 .

[64]  K. C. Klauer,et al.  The Psychology of Evaluation : Affective Processes in Cognition and Emotion , 2003 .

[65]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Social capital on facebook: differentiating uses and users , 2011, CHI.

[66]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  Primitive emotional contagion. , 1992 .

[67]  A. Beck,et al.  Depression: Causes and Treatment , 1967 .