A system for monitoring depression symptoms from posts on social networks

• Rodrigo Carvalho UFF
• Matheus Yasuo Ribeiro Utino USP
• Paulo Mann UFRJ
• Rodrigo Salvador Monteiro UFF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/eniac.2025.12291

Abstract

This work presents the development of a system for monitoring depressive symptoms based on social media posts, with a focus on the Reddit platform. By combining Natural Language Processing techniques and machine learning models, the posts were classified according to their potential indication of depression, complemented by lexical and thematic analyses. The developed web application enables statistical visualization and real-time monitoring, offering features aimed at supporting mental health professionals. The results show a significant correlation between the content of the analyzed communities and the presence of depressive signs, suggesting the system’s potential as an auxiliary tool for early symptom screening. Ethical issues related to privacy and classification accuracy are also discussed.

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