Is everyone okay? Let's ask Twitter

Researchers are looking at online posts to gauge public mental health - the results aren't pretty

Without normal social life as antidote and anchor during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, social media now feels more like real life than ever before. And researchers are trying to measure happiness levels by looking at social media posts, in particular, how the choice of words in people's posts reveals their moods. PHOTO: NYTIMES
Casey Schwartz
Updated
Oct 19, 2020, 06:47 AM
Published
Oct 19, 2020, 05:00 AM
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Which was the saddest day of them all? This is the question you may be asking yourself, surveying the wreckage of 2020 thus far.

There are so many contenders: Was it March 12, the day after Tom Hanks announced he was sick and the NBA (National Basketball Association) announced it was cancelled? Was it June 1, the day peaceful protesters were tear-gassed so that United States President Donald Trump could comfortably stroll to his Bible-wielding photo op?

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 19, 2020, with the headline Is everyone okay? Let's ask Twitter. Subscribe

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