Ethics and Privacy in Social Media Research for Mental Health

This review provides an overview of recent research which uses social media data in the context of mental health. It also provides an overview of challenges in relation to consent, privacy, and usage of such data.

A broad range of research has been conducted in recent years, using text-based and visual data from social media platforms, for purposes such as risk detection at the individual level, providing crisis outreach, and developing a better understanding of the lived experience of mental ill-health. Challenges remain in relation to obtaining truly informed consent for research using social media data-however platforms allowing data donation may address these concerns. There is an imperative need to ensure that privacy is preserved at all stages of the research process, from data collection, to analysis, and the responsible use of raw data in publications.