DC Trawler

Good news: the U.S. government will soon monitor your tweets to gauge your mental health

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Why not? They’ve made every other aspect of your life their concern, including your body itself. Why not your mind?

Elizabeth Harrington, Washington Free Beacon:

The federal government is studying how to use Twitter for surveillance on depressed people.

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) began a study financed by the National Institutes of Health last month that will provide “population level depression monitoring” through the social media site.

The project, “Utilizing Social Media as a Resource for Mental Health Surveillance,” is costing taxpayers $82,800…

The researchers will create algorithms to determine if people are depressed through their tweets, which they hope will serve as a basis for monitoring mental illness. They will also engage with depressed individuals on Twitter directly.

And then what? Tell them to get the hell off Twitter? I know that always helps me when I’m feelin’ blue.

What if somebody’s depressed about being under constant government surveillance? I’m not sure these guys have really thought this through.

Well, at least it’s only $83 grand. In terms of federal spending, that’s not a drop in the bucket. It’s an H20 molecule in a drop in the bucket. And there’s no way this information could ever be misused for political purposes. When in the history of the world has something like that ever happened?

Everything is fine. Just fine. See? You’re happier already.

Tags : treacher
Jim Treacher