Analysis Of COVID-19 Effects On Wellbeing - Study Of Reddit Posts Using Natural Language Processing Techniques

Exploring Mental Stress Expressions in Online Communities: A Subreddit Analysis

“…Our study found that there was a significant increase in negative sentiments via five stress levels from subreddit data after January 2020 (the COVID-19 pandemic) compared to before January 2020 (the pre-pandemic). This finding is consistent with recent studies that have linked negative sentiments [6,31]. This parallel increase in negative sentiments and stress levels underscores the pandemic's profound influence on public opinion and mental well-being, which manifested strongly in digital spaces (see Figure 4 and Table 3).…”

“…All other subreddits had percentages below 10%. Redditors' scores for a post ranged from 0 to 16,029 (median [IQR]: 3 [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]). Four intervals ([0, 1], [2,3], [4,21], and [22,16029]) of the Redditors' scores accounted for the following percentages of total posts: 24.74% (15,043 posts before January 2020 and 18,761 posts after), 27.41% (16,106; 21,346), 29.11% (18,404; 21,373), and 18.74% (14,617; 10,988).…”

“…Hence, analyzing public opinion and sentiment within these online communities can offer essential insights into the prevalence and dynamics of mental stress, inform targeted mental health interventions and support strategies, and provide valuable insights into how mental stress is perceived and managed within distinct online communities. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has immensely impacted mental health and well-being, exacerbating existing stressed users and introducing new challenges [6], consequently prompting people to turn to online platforms for support, information, and connection [7]. Therefore, it is essential to investigate mental stress within the context of the pandemic to provide a window into the evolving landscape of human emotions and behaviors during times of crisis.…”