Your Facebook pictures may say you’re depressed

Posting large numbers of pictures on social media could be a sign of depression, a US study has found.

The analysis revealed that pictures posted by depressed social media users were more likely to contain faces, but less likely to have a filter applied.

Scientists at Harvard and Vermont universities have designed a computer programmed to identify depressed individuals by their social media posts which they say promises a system of algorithm-triggered alerts.

Published in the journal EPJ Data Science, the research showed the system accurately diagnosed depression 70 per cent of the time.