Gender in the disclosure of loneliness on Twitter during COVID-19 lockdowns.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Loneliness has been shown to affect both mental and physical health, and was a major concern even before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 distancing measures, millions of people took to social media to express their feelings and seek social support.

Methods

In this mixed-methods study, we examine the self-disclosure of loneliness by users identifying as male or female (via self-disclosed naming conventions) on Twitter before and during the COVID-19 "lockdowns."

Results

We show that in the first two months of COVID-19 restrictions, self-disclosure of loneliness on this platform rose dramatically, and also have changed qualitatively. We find that female accounts tend to post more loneliness self-disclosures compared to male ones, even before COVID

SUBMITTER: Mejova Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10731375 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature