Depression Detection in Social Media: A Comprehensive Review of Machine Learning and Deep Learning Techniques

Depression is a widespread mental health disorder that may remain undiagnosed by conventional clinical methods. The rapidly growing world of social media sites such as Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and Weibo has provided new avenues for depression detection using Machine Learning (ML) as well as Deep Learning (DL), which analyze user behavior patterns and linguistic cues for more accurate detection of depression. Many techniques have been developed for this aim over the years. Identifying relevant publications on this topic using current academic search systems is challenging due to the rapid growth of research publications, unclear or limited search terms, and the complexity of citation networks. Several review papers have been published to ease this task by summarizing the methodologies, key findings, and recommendations for future research. However, most current reviews often do not provide a clear overview of the evolution, latest techniques, and challenges. This paper aims to address that gap by providing a comprehensive review of ML and DL methodologies for detecting depression on social media. We propose a generic architecture for these systems and present a detailed analysis of methodologies and datasets used for evaluation in this field. In addition, we highlight key open research areas, providing a useful starting point for further research and development. By narrowing our focus to social media, this review contributes to advancing the understanding and application of cutting-edge methods for depression detection. While this review highlights advancements in social media-based depression detection, it excludes alternative approaches like graph-based systems and reinforcement learning, and its focus on social media may limit its applicability to other domains.