Expression of Depression among Arab Twitter Users Using Arabic Corpus Analysis

Expressing emotions on social media is becoming popular by the day. Several studies have documented the relation between how people express their emotions to their mental state e.g., depression. Most of these studies were conducted in English, however, understanding how emotions are expressed using Arabic language has yet to be understood. This paper investigates how Arab Twitter users perceive depression on social media and analyze their sentiments about it. In addition, examining how Arabs express negative emotions in Arabic texts on social media platforms. A corpus analysis approach was used to understand how Arab users are expressing their emotions. In addition, a sentiment analysis was conducted to evaluate the intensity of negative feelings used in Twitter. Results showed a common theme exists when talking about depression and fear, Allah (God), and the usage of first pronouns. There is also a correlation between religion and depression when expressing emotions. It is evidently clear from the findings that there is a direct relation between how Arab users express their emotions and their perception of depression. One major implication was the nature of Arabic language, as there are different dialects of Arabic and one specific feeling, such as fear or sadness, can be expressed using numerous words and phrases.