Your Instagram Filter May Show Signs of Depression

Hey guys, I love Instagram, but it turns out that the app can actually predict whether or not you're depressed.

Now this is really interesting, because what some scientists recently discovered is that the filter that you use on your Instagram, can actually show signs of depression. So let's get into the details here.

A new study by researchers from Harvard University and the University of Vermont delved into 43,000 posts from accounts of 166 different Instagram users, using machine learning tools to correctly identify markers of clinical depression. This is so, so interesting because what they found here was, that these AI tools that they used to figure out if these people have clinical depression was actually a better indicator of whether or not the person had symptoms of depression then using human investigation. Okay, so that's actually really crazy.

So depressed individual tended to feature photos that were bluer, grayer, and darker. The high-contrast black and white Inkwell filter was the most common choice among depressed individuals, while the warming rosy Valencia filter was the least likely filter to be used.

So let's look at the pictures here. So these are the top 3 filters prefer by healthy people and then the top five filters preferred by depressed people.

So, I personally don't use a ton of Instagram filters. I use a outside cuz I don't like putting too much of a filter. I'll up the contrast or brighten it a little bit, but I rarely do black and white. I like to feel like I'm a photographer, so I try to make it in the most artistic way depending on what it is. And then it depends on, a lot of times I noticed I have a lot of different colored friends and different shades of friends. So I have to play with the filters to make sure everyone's happy. Cuz some of the filters that worked for brown people don't necessarily compliment lighter tone friends that may not have a tan at the time.

For me it doesn't have anything to do with me being depressed, or whatever. It's actually what I post if I'm depressed or not. It's like, if I post messages, people be like, you good? It's like, sometimes the world is just tough, it's tough to be in, you gotta do this, this, and that. So that's how you can tell if I'm in a funk or whatever.

I guess here, baby filter's like a metaphor for the filter that you view the world in or something like that. I know that this was a better predictor than the human indicators that they use, but at the same time I feel like, no, sometimes you are just trying to make yourself look better. And so sometimes I look really fucking good in crema, or if I'm having a bad skin day, black and white is key, cuz you can get rid of some of that stuff. when I do black and white pictures, I think I did a black and white one at my friend's wedding.

I was taking a selfie like this and two of my buddies were in the background. So I snapped it and it was artistic, so I made it a black and white because we had black and white tuxes on.

This is also really interesting, it might surprise you guys. While a lack of social activity is a typical characteristic of depression, depressed persons were actually more likely to post photos with faces, albeit a lower average number of faces per photo than healthy participants and posts made by depressed users were also more likely to get comments than likes.

So that's very surprising, and I don't have an explanation for why I think that is. Maybe people who are taking selfies and writing those quotes, like sometimes life gets you down. And if somebody says sometimes life gets you down and you took a selfie, people are gonna comment on that. And they're gonna try to uplift you and say, hey call me, are you okay?

Sometimes I'm kind of mixed with that because like either relationships or things like that people go to social media to write stuff about that,and I'm like that's their way of reaching out. And asking for help I guess you could say, even though everyone will deny it.

But it's like just call somebody, talk to somebody. Call your friend.
Social media, I think, is a way for people to find that Social function that they desire. But it is, if you want to seek out help in that way I think it's always better to have that human to human contact. But if you feel like this helps you then Do.