Mining Social Media to Unveil Emotional Contagion and Perceptions of Personal Fitness Information (PFI) Among mHealth App Users Over the Past Decades
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Chen, Cen
- Graduate Program:
- Informatics
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- March 18, 2024
- Committee Members:
- Jack Carroll, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Dongwon Lee, Committee Member
Dongwon Lee, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies
Aiping Xiong, Committee Member
Nicole Kreisberg, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Mobile Health
Social Informatics
Personal Fitness Information
Emotional Contagion - Abstract:
- In today's digital age, integrating technology with health has revolutionized how Personal Fitness Information shapes individual health behaviors and impacts public health outcomes. The proliferation of wearable technology and health-tracking applications has made health data more accessible, marking a notable shift towards self-managed health and personalized care strategies. This evolution significantly underscores the importance of Personal Fitness Information in advancing healthcare delivery, enhancing patient engagement, and steering the healthcare industry toward preventative health strategies. This study delves into the intricate landscape of user perceptions and discussions surrounding Personal Fitness Information among mobile health application communities on Reddit. Through an analysis of 1,099 main posts and 17,660 corresponding comments across eight communities, encompassing over three million users, we employ sentiment analysis and topic modeling to trace the evolution of engagement and attitudes towards Personal Fitness Information over the past fifteen years from 2008 to 2024. Our longitudinal approach reveals a marked increase in discussions about Personal Fitness Information, notably influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic recovery phases, especially during 2023, which has heightened public interest in health and fitness—especially regarding respiratory health metrics. Our comprehensive preparation of the corpus and subsequent analysis disclose a strong relationship between the sentiment of posts and the sentiment of community reactions, indicating a community preference for content that is both informative and supportive. The study also discerns a pronounced shift towards proactive health monitoring and fitness tracking, a development accelerated by technological advancements and the enduring impact of the pandemic on health behaviors. By illuminating the ongoing dialogue within digital health communities, our research provides critical insights for developers, policymakers, and healthcare professionals who aim to leverage digital platforms for health promotion and disease prevention. Furthermore, we explore the concept of emotional contagion within social media networks, examining how the emotional tone of community interactions can influence overall sentiment and engagement. This analysis is pivotal for designing interventions that promote positive health behaviors and support mental well-being. Overall, this investigation enriches the discourse at the intersection of public health, social media, and technology, emphasizing the critical role of Personal Fitness Information in shaping informed health policies, guiding user-centric design improvements, and fostering a society empowered to face health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.