Social Media Evaluation of Seasonal and Geographic Trends of Corneal Ulcers in the United States

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate if social media and Google search data can identify seasonal and geographic trends in the incidence of corneal ulcers in the United States. Methods: This is a case series of all corneal ulcer-related data collected from two major social media platforms and Google trends from US users between 2017 and 2021. Instagram and Twitter were searched for posts and hashtags related to corneal ulcer. Web and image search volume of corneal ulcer were collected from Google trends (https://trends.google.com). Data were compared between seasons, defined by 3-month intervals, and chi-square tests were used to determine the statistical significance. Results: One hundred and sixty-five individuals (79% female) and 164 individuals (79% female) posted personal new corneal ulcer diagnoses on Twitter and Instagram, respectively. Summer resulted in the highest number of both Twitter (34%, P=0.07) and Instagram (33%, P=0.68) posts. Summer was also the most popular season for Google web and image searches of corneal ulcer (search volume average of 58.4 and 41.2, P=0.74 and P=0.01, respectively, with 100 being peak popularity). Across all platforms, the South was the most represented (32% Twitter, 38% Instagram, 32% Google Web, and 33% Google Images). Conclusions: Our results indicate that social media and Google trends may reflect seasonal and geographic patterns of corneal ulcer incidence in the United States. However, further study with increased power is needed.

Automated summary

This study aims to determine if social media and Google search data can be used to identify seasonal and geographic trends in the incidence of corneal ulcers in the United States. The data collected from Instagram, Twitter, and Google trends between 2017 and 2021 suggest that social media and Google trends may indeed reflect these patterns.