When is the most depressing day of the year 2011

William Hall, first Black person to receive Victoria Cross. Family pays tribute to late Indigenous veteran Philip Favel. Canadian stranded in Iraq to be issued emergency passport. More than half of Canadians under 40 see Baby Boomer legacy as negative: poll. Retired General: Thousands with Canadian ties stuck in Afghanistan. Canadians facing a Christmas tree shortage this holiday season. Most-Watched false. Callebaut loses bid to buy back his company. Significant increase in public safety concerns near Sheldon Chumir supervised consumption site.

Upbeat has changed the game, and the press release comes across in a way that suggests that somehow, there is a clear way to quantify how "depressing" a given day is. But it is based on an assumption that has never been tested — that tweets are an accurate reflection of the mental wellbeing of the entire population — so it's impossible to know how meaningful or informative the research actually is.

And because it sounds more believable than a stupid equation, it further promotes the trivialisation of depression. Moaning on Twitter about having to go back to work after the holidays is not depression. All for the sake of selling a drink. Complaining about work and the weather on Twitter doesn't mean you're depressed.

Reuse this content. So this latest incarnation is worrying for a number of reasons. While at first it comes across as a re-packaging of earlier guff about Blue Monday for the sake of promoting a product, on closer inspection it appears to be more insidious in nature. But analysing Twitter activity is new and different.

And because it sounds more believable than a stupid equation, it further promotes the trivialization of depression. Moaning on Twitter about having to go back to work after the holidays is not depression.