To gain a better understanding as to how epilepsy is being discussed on social media platforms.

People are increasingly utilizing social media to join virtual communities, receive moral support, track personal progress and set goals. This is particularly true for patients with various medical illnesses, including epilepsy. It is important that neurologists understand how social media is being utilized, how patients are using various platforms and what is being discussed (positive or negative). 

A sweeping analysis was performed for the first two weeks of October 2020. Keyword and/or hashtag popularity, keyword association, and sentiment analysis of social media platforms (Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, Vimeo, and Flickr) and the World Wide Web was performed using SocialSearcher using the respective hashtag and/or keyword: "Epilepsy" OR "epileptic." 

Additionally, using Hashtagify premium Enterprise software, common associated hashtags with #Epilepsy were identified for Twitter and Instagram.

SocialSearcher identified 1,100 posts across platforms. The most common associated hashtags were #epilepsyawareness, #epilepsywarrior, and #seizures. The total sentiment analysis was 21% positive, 22% negative, and 57% neutral. The platforms with a majority of negative posts compared to positive or neutral were the World Wide Web and Twitter. The platform with the highest ratio of positive:negative was Instagram, where 71% of non-neutral posts were positive.

Most common accompanying hashtags on Twitter were #CBD/cannabis (14.8% of posts), #autism (7.5% of posts), and #PTSD (6.8% of posts). The most common accompanying hashtags on Instagram were #epilepsia, #epilepsyawareness, #PTSD, and #cannabis. 

Instagram provides the most positive social media environment for patients with epilepsy. The inverse is true for Twitter and the World Wide Web. PTSD and cannabis/CBD may represent topics that patients may be more likely to discuss with other patients with epilepsy or people online.