The Social Dynamics and Well-Being (SocWeB) Lab at Georgia Tech is led by Dr. Munmun De Choudhury.
In an era where online interactions are transcending physical ones, the imprint of our mental health is increasingly visible in the virtual landscapes we inhabit. However, these virtual spaces are not monoliths – they are so much intertwined in our lives, that they impact what we do, how we think, and why we feel in certain ways. In fact, we are turning to these platforms for help and support, when these resources may not be available elsewhere; other times being turned away from them due to antisocial content, inaccurate advice, or harassment. The SocWeB Lab’s academic journey has, therefore, been to decode the nuanced relationship between the usage of these ever emergent and ever evolving online technologies and mental health, articulated through three guiding inquiries: a) Can platforms like social media serve as a window into our mental health? b) What influence do positive and negative engagements on and with online technologies, whether social media or generative AI tools, have on our mental health? And crucially, c) Can we design online technologies and tools that amplify our mental health in a safe and ethical manner?
Towards this goal, the SocWeB Lab adopts a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, that balances methodological contributions with practical impact. We combine the power of social computing, machine learning, and natural language analysis with insights and theories from the social, behavioral, and clinical science fields, such as psychology, sociology, psychiatry, medicine, and public health. We evaluate the developed computational techniques using diverse, quantitative and qualitative human-centered methods, deriving conclusions grounded in human behavior and embodying the human experience with technology.
Please refer to the Projects page for details about our ongoing work, and the Publications page to learn more about our research efforts over the years. The SocWeB Lab is very fortunate and proud to have had its research been identified through several awards and through numerous popular press coverages in esteemed media outlets.
The SocWeB Lab’s research is made possible through gracious funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Foundation, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation, Templeton Foundation, Instagram, Microsoft, Mozilla, Yahoo!, Cisco, and Samsung – highlighting interest from varied sponsors and stakeholders.
Interested in working with us? Please refer to the Working @ SocWeB page.