Perception Differences between the Depressed and Non-Depressed Users in Twitter

Abstract

One's state of mind will influence her perception of the world and people within it. In this paper, we explore attitudes and behaviors toward online social media based on whether one is depressed or not. We conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 14 active Twitter users, half of whom were depressed and the other half non-depressed. Our results highlight key differences between the two groups in terms of perception towards online social media and behaviors within such systems. Non-depressed individuals perceived Twitter as an information consuming and sharing tool, while depressed individuals perceived it as a tool for social awareness and emotional interaction. We discuss several design implications for future social networks that could better accommodate users with depression and provide insights towards helping depressed users meet their needs through online social media.