Changes in Psycholinguistic Attributes of Social Media Users Before, During, and After Self-Reported Influenza Symptoms

Abstract

Previous research has linked psychological and social variables to physical health. At the same time, psychological and social variables have been successfully predicted from the language used by individuals in social media. In this paper, we conduct an initial exploratory study linking these two areas. Using the social media platform of Twitter, we identify users self-reporting symptoms that are descriptive of influenza-like illness (ILI). We analyze the tweets of those users in the periods before, during, and after the reported symptoms, exploring emotional, cognitive, and structural components of language. We observe a post-ILI increase in social activity and cognitive processes, possibly supporting previous offline findings linking more active social activities and stronger cognitive coping skills to a better immune status.

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