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Defense Department links social media use to mental health in official tweet

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A tweet posted Monday morning by the Department of Defense is raising eyebrows for linking social media use to mental health.

“Social media postings sometimes provide an important window into a person’s #mentalhealth,” the department tweeted from its official account. “Know what to look for.”

The tweet links to research conducted by the department’s Suicide Prevention Office that “shows how information on social media can provide an important window into a person’s state of mind.”

{mosads}The research aims to help mental health professionals utilize new technologies to “reach individuals and provide greater understanding of their well-being” in order to enhance ongoing suicide prevention efforts.

Though the study was executed before President Trump took office on January 20th, the timing of the tweet led social media users to conclude that it may have been a subtle jab at the new commander-in-chief, given his infamous Twitter habits and public disputes with the intelligence community.

“Are you guys watching @realDonaldTrump’s twitter?” tweeted one person. “I am concerned about his mental health. He’s a danger to our country.”

“Medal of Freedom for whoever at @DeptofDefense was responsible for this, please,” read another tweet.

“Y’all know he shut down tweets from Dept of Interior for less than this,” said a tweet referencing a decision to shut down the National Parks Service Twitter account over a tweet critical of the Trump inauguration crowd size.

“Hope y’all survive the next purge.”

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