What we say on social media can predict our death
Scientific litsketch on boosting mental health
How does what we say online affect our well-being?
Research shows that what we say on social media is highly predictive of our physical well-being (Eichstaedt et al., 2015).
The analyses of 148 million tweets in the US were combined with heart disease data across 1,347 counties revealed that when people mention more words like fuck, hate, bored and tired, the places they live in recorded higher numbers of death from heart diseases. When our word choices refer to aggression, hate, boredom and fatigue, we are more likely to live in places where more people actually die from heart diseases. When people mention more words like skills, community service, meeting, experience, friends, hope, opportunity, achieve and strength, the places they live in recorded lower numbers of death from heart diseases. When our word choices refer to skilled occupations, positive experiences and optimism, we are more likely to live in places where people are less likely to die from heart diseases. The words we use on Twitter reflect the shared economic, physical, and psychological characteristics of the environment we live in, which are highly predictive of the emotional and physical well-being of our neighbours.
In order to nurture greater well-being, we should cultivate skills attainment, social relationships and optimism in our lives to the extent that they are reflected in the language we use on social media.
Choose your words wisely that they can encourage and build up other people. What was your last tweet or comment you wrote on social media?
Eichstaedt, J. C., Schwartz, H. A., Kern, M. L., Park, G., Labarthe, D. R., Merchant, R. M., ... & Weeg, C. (2015). Psychological language on Twitter predicts county-level heart disease mortality. Psychological Science, 26(2), 159-169.