Social Media Reveals Urban-Rural Differences in Stress across China

Cui, Jesse; Zhang, Tingdan; Jaidka, Kokil; Pang, Dandan; Sherman, Garrick; Jakhetiya, Vinit; Ungar, Lyle H.; Guntuku, Sharath Chandra (9 June 2022). Social Media Reveals Urban-Rural Differences in Stress across China In: Budak, Ceren; Cha, Meeyoung; Quercia, Daniele (eds.) Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media 16 (pp. 114-124). Burnaby, B.C., Canada: PKP Publishing 10.1609/icwsm.v16i1.19277

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Modelling differential stress expressions in urban and rural regions in China can provide a better understanding of the effects of urbanization on psychological well-being in a country that has rapidly grown economically in the last two decades. Using Weibo posts from over 65,000 users across 329 counties, we build hierarchical mixed-effects models to understand linguistic differences in the experiences and expressions of stress in urban-rural China. We analyze phrases, topical themes, and psycho-linguistic word choices in Weibo posts mentioning stress to better understand appraisal differences surrounding psychological stress in urban and rural communities in China; we then compare them with large-scale polls from Gallup. After controlling for socioeconomic and gender differences, we find that rural communities tend to express stress in emotional and personal themes such as relationships, health, and opportunity while users in urban areas express stress using relative, temporal, and external themes such as work, politics, and economics. We find corroborative trends in physical, financial, and social wellness with urbanization in Gallup polls.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Division/Institute:	Business School > Institute for New Work Business School > Institute for New Work > Achtsamkeit und Positive Leadership Business School
Name:	Cui, Jesse; Zhang, Tingdan; Jaidka, Kokil; Pang, Dandan0000-0002-7863-8405; Sherman, Garrick; Jakhetiya, Vinit; Ungar, Lyle H.; Guntuku, Sharath Chandra; Budak, Ceren; Cha, Meeyoung and Quercia, Daniele
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
ISSN:	2162-3449
ISBN:	978-1-57735-875-6
Publisher:	PKP Publishing
Language:	English
Submitter:	Dandan Pang
Date Deposited:	04 Jul 2023 15:45
Last Modified:	04 Jul 2023 15:45
Publisher DOI:	10.1609/icwsm.v16i1.19277
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.19479
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/19479