Tweets help scientists map our moods
Researchers who analysed hundreds of millions of tweets confirm that our moods do darken as the day progresses and lighten over weekends.
The results highlight the “refreshing” power of sleep but also show how work stress can dampen the spirits, say the researchers led by sociology professor Michael Macy, from Cornell University in New York.
The research, which spanned tweets from 84 countries, is being published in the journal Science.
Researchers analysed more than half a billion tweets from 2.4 million users of the micro-blogging service over two years and looked at trends in users’ moods.
In the morning it seems users wake up full of optimism, but that tails off across the day. The researchers also found that people were generally in a better mood on weekends than on weekdays, regardless of the time of day, which they say points to the effects of work and commuting.
In the United Arab Emirates, for example, where the working week is Sunday – Thursday there were more positive tweets on Fridays and Saturdays.
Scientists found that users’ outlook varied greatly depending on the time of day, the day of the week and whether the days are getting longer or shorter.
Findings suggest that the mood pattern was broadly similar across different cultures.
The research team said: “People are happier on weekends, but the morning peak in positive affect is delayed by 2 hours, which suggests that people awaken later on weekends.”
The research appears to show that Twitter users in the UK were more optimistic than those in France or Portugal however UK tweeters were more miserable than those in Australia and the US.
Researchers have also said they do not think the results they obtained would have differed had they sampled a different time period.
As part of its research, the team has set up a website that allows users to see how behaviours are distributed throughout the day using keywords such as ‘breakfast’ or ‘traffic’.
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