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Main Authors: Kapadia, Aryan Ramchandra, Bhattacharjee, Niharika, Jia, Mung Yao, Gupta, Ishq, Wang, Dong, Saha, Koustuv
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.14423
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author Kapadia, Aryan Ramchandra
Bhattacharjee, Niharika
Jia, Mung Yao
Gupta, Ishq
Wang, Dong
Saha, Koustuv
author_facet Kapadia, Aryan Ramchandra
Bhattacharjee, Niharika
Jia, Mung Yao
Gupta, Ishq
Wang, Dong
Saha, Koustuv
contents Financial events negatively affect emotional well-being, but large-scale studies examining their impact on online emotional expression using real-time social media data remain limited. To address this gap, we propose analyzing Reddit communities (financial and non-financial) across two case studies: a financial crash and a boom. We investigate how emotional and psycholinguistic responses differ between financial and non-financial communities, and the extent to which the type of financial event affects user behavior during the two case study periods. To examine the effect of these events on expressed language, we analyze daily sentiment, emotion, and LIWC counts using quasi-experimental methods: Difference-in-Differences (DiD) and Causal Impact analyses during a financial boom and a financial crash. Overall, we find coherent, negative shifts in emotional responses during financial crashes, but weaker, mixed responses during booms. By exploring emotional and psycholinguistic expressions during financial events, we identify future implications for understanding online users' mental health and building connected, healthy communities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_14423
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Are Gains Quiet and Losses Loud? Emotional Responses to Financial Booms and Crashes Online
Kapadia, Aryan Ramchandra
Bhattacharjee, Niharika
Jia, Mung Yao
Gupta, Ishq
Wang, Dong
Saha, Koustuv
Human-Computer Interaction
Social and Information Networks
Financial events negatively affect emotional well-being, but large-scale studies examining their impact on online emotional expression using real-time social media data remain limited. To address this gap, we propose analyzing Reddit communities (financial and non-financial) across two case studies: a financial crash and a boom. We investigate how emotional and psycholinguistic responses differ between financial and non-financial communities, and the extent to which the type of financial event affects user behavior during the two case study periods. To examine the effect of these events on expressed language, we analyze daily sentiment, emotion, and LIWC counts using quasi-experimental methods: Difference-in-Differences (DiD) and Causal Impact analyses during a financial boom and a financial crash. Overall, we find coherent, negative shifts in emotional responses during financial crashes, but weaker, mixed responses during booms. By exploring emotional and psycholinguistic expressions during financial events, we identify future implications for understanding online users' mental health and building connected, healthy communities.
title Are Gains Quiet and Losses Loud? Emotional Responses to Financial Booms and Crashes Online
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Social and Information Networks
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.14423