On the 29th of September 2023, the Ph.D. candidate Berecki Beáta-Hajnalka defended her doctoral thesis entitled Self Improvement in the Age of Big Data. A Language and Content Analysis of Self-Improvement Apps. The thesis was defended within the Doctoral School of Communication, Public Relations, and Advertising at the Faculty of Political, Administrative, and Communication Sciences. The supervisor of the thesis was Prof. Dr. Vincze Orsolya Hanna.

The objective of this thesis is to analyse self-improvement applications (which are part of the wider phenomenon of self-improvement and the quantified self) through their broader and linguistic specificity. It also investigates the impact of the digital medium on self-improvement practices.

To gain insights, the study quantitatively analyses the texts of prominent self-improvement smartphone apps, including app descriptions and user reviews, using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. LIWC has been widely used in various fields, including psychology, communication, and marketing, to understand how language reflects psychological and social states.

The study identifies the predominant themes and concepts present in the texts of these applications. It also explores whether different text types within the applications reflect similar themes or show variations. Linguistic features, persuasive techniques, and engagement strategies used in these apps are explored. In addition, the study compares the content and discourse of self-help books with that of self-improvement apps, assessing the main differences and similarities. This analysis contributes to the understanding of the language and mechanisms of self-improvement apps, considering the role of technology in shaping them.