Twitter Proves Everyone Gets Afternoon Blues

Sociologists analyze 500M tweets in global study
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 29, 2011 5:23 PM CDT
The Twitter Guide to Psychology: Afternoon Slump Is Global
Researchers used Twitter to gauge people's moods throughout the day.   (Shutterstock)

Do you frequently find yourself in a late-afternoon funk? You’re in good company: It’s a worldwide phenomenon, and Twitter proves it, researchers say. Despite different cultures, “we found a very similar pattern in India, Africa, Europe, the UK, Canada, North America, Australia,” says a sociology professor. Over the course of two years, his team examined some 500 million tweets from 2.4 million people across 84 countries using a program they created that analyzes feelings based on word use, reports Discovery.

“People are most upbeat around breakfast time," the professor says, with tweets peppered with words like "awesome" and "fantastic". "Their mood deteriorates over the course of the day" (word use gets gloomier: panic, sad) and then bounces back in the evening. And it’s not just about the workday: The same slump occurs on weekends. The researchers thank social media for their findings. “Twitter almost records everything that happens in life,” one tells Business Week. “Mundane, inconsequential, and conversational tweets are a massive archive of digital traces.” (More Twitter stories.)

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