Language left behind on social media exposes the emotional and cognitive costs of a romantic breakup
- 16 February 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 118 (7)
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2017154118
Abstract
Using archived social media data, the language signatures of people going through breakups were mapped. Text analyses were conducted on 1,027,541 posts from 6,803 Reddit users who had posted about their breakups. The posts include users’ Reddit history in the 2 y surrounding their breakups across the various domains of their life, not just posts pertaining to their relationship. Language markers of an impending breakup were evident 3 mo before the event, peaking on the week of the breakup and returning to baseline 6 mo later. Signs included an increase in I-words, we-words, and cognitive processing words (characteristic of depression, collective focus, and the meaning-making process, respectively) and drops in analytic thinking (indicating more personal and informal language). The patterns held even when people were posting to groups unrelated to breakups and other relationship topics. People who posted about their breakup for longer time periods were less well-adjusted a year after their breakup compared to short-term posters. The language patterns seen for breakups replicated for users going through divorce (n = 5,144; 1,109,867 posts) or other types of upheavals (n = 51,357; 11,081,882 posts). The cognitive underpinnings of emotional upheavals are discussed using language as a lens.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Science Foundation (DGE-161040)
- National Science Foundation (SES1758835)
- HHS | National Institutes of Health (5R01GM112697-02)
- HHS | National Institutes of Health (1R01MH117172)
- John Templeton Foundation (#48503)
- John Templeton Foundation (#62256)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (15F06718R0006603)
- National Science Foundation (IIS-1344257)
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