According To Researchers, Instagram Posts Can Be Used To Diagnose Depression

Medical Celia Hoffman
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Recent studies have shown that Instagram posts can serve as a valuable tool to determine whether a patient is suffering from depression, according to researchers. Chris Danforth (University of Vermont) and Andrew Reece (Harvard University) are responsible for conducting the report.

166 volunteers were recruited, thanks to Amazon Mechanical Turk and their entire Instagram histories were studied. A standardized clinical depression survey was used to determine the patients’ level of depression and they were also asked about their social media usage habits, as well as any past history of depression diagnosis.

The researchers used the color and brightness of their Instagram posts to determine whether depression played a role in their usage of the social media platform. Overall, patients who were depressed were far more likely to post pictures that had a decreased color saturation and brightness.

Their posts also spiked in frequency and they were more prone to use filters. The most popular photo filter used by depressed Instagram members is the Inkwell, the common features that allow participants to change their photos into black and white. The Valencia filter was most commonly used by those who were not depressed.

Depressed study participants were more likely to post pictures with faces in them, but not as likely as non-depressed participants. Danforth and Reece believe that this is due to the fact that depressed people tend to have much smaller social circles.

Thanks to these findings, medical personnel may have a new avenue for the early diagnosis of mental illness and depression. This study is merely the first step, however, as there is much work to be done before we have reached the point where an algorithm can effectively be used to augment traditional diagnostic decision-making processes.