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headgasketidiot t1_ivy68tc wrote

Methodology is absolute crap and does not support that conclusion.

>The study, conducted by addiction specialists at Diamond Rehab Thailand, analyzed Google Trends data for a selection of stress-relief terms to see which states were more stressed-out compared to others.

They're comparing what terms the different states are googling. Going from what people are googling to how stressed they are is crazy and unsupported leap to make.

Also the "addiction specialists" are a for-profit rehab center doing a blog post (aka a "study") for marketing.

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Human802 t1_ivyhcb9 wrote

Yeah the data could indicate that Vermonter are more into self care, so they search for stress remedies more often.

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SabbathBoiseSabbath t1_ivyqy6g wrote

This is where we are in 2022.

The veracity and methodology of "studies" no longer matter. All that matters is that a study was conducted and you can generate headlines from it.

Now people can find this study and use it as "proof" of some argument they're trying to make, whatever that might be.

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[deleted] t1_ivz05qb wrote

It's the SLOW INTERNET. After trying for so long to download an email, the stress levels go up and the most common reaction is then to search for solutions.

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[deleted] t1_ivyoflp wrote

All that might mean, at best, is that vermonters are more concerned about stress related (possibly) or perhaps more generally health related issues. With an elderly and aging population that should be no surprise. If anything it could indicate lower levels of stress, if the searches are proactive.

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DamonKatze t1_ivyp30q wrote

Or one person really stressed out about their obsessive googling addiction...

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Generic_Commenter-X t1_ivz0bjq wrote

Also, unless I missed it, the article doesn't state why Vermonters are stressed. The going assumption among some commenters here is that it is affordability, but that might have nothing to do with it. So far, it just seems like an opportunity for everyone to apply the "findings", such as they are, to their personal obsession/peeve/political ideology and say: See! See!?! We gotta do something about this! I, YES ME, told you!

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[deleted] t1_ivyhz1f wrote

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headgasketidiot t1_ivykwmq wrote

Yeah but you have to actually do a study to determine that relationship, which is exactly backwards from what this "study" did.

Flu rates are a much simpler metric than "most stressed," which is a very squishy phrase that they don't even bother to define. Afaik no one tracks stress levels nationally, and if they do, there's a million different ways that'll give you a million different answers. "How stressed are people" is a very different question from "how many people have the flu." Even if they wanted to do this right, it would be a lot harder because the CDC can't just give you a number for you to correlate with search data.

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burke_no_sleeps t1_ivyl8mv wrote

I get where you're coming from but I think there's a big difference between those two uses.

Googling symptoms of flu most likely means you think you have the flu and are using Google as a form of symptom checklist.

Googling stress relief methods could indicate you're stressed, or that you're doing research, curious, discussing different methods w friends & family, etc.

I don't think people are Googling "am I stressed (based on the following symptoms x y z)" - they already know they are - but they may not be sure whether they have the flu or a cold.

Correlation =/= causation.

Disappointing, though, because that's an interesting concept for a study - what factors contribute to stress and which areas of the country have the highest number of those factors.

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Badbadluuck t1_iw65c23 wrote

I mean NH and VT consistently rank very high in alcohol consumption per capita. So there’s that.

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cpujockey t1_ivyphsl wrote

they shouldn't use the einsteins' bar is homophobic guy as a gauge of vermont stress levels.

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