This story is from Front Row on BBC Radio 4. It was presented by Kirsty Lang and produced by Edwina Pitman. To listen to more episodes of Front Row, please click here. Adapted by Sarah Keating.

One week in we let the story begin

We're going out on our first date

You and me are thrifty, so go all you can eat

Fill up your bag and I fill up a plate

It is doubtful that Ed Sheeran and his song-writing partners were thinking about the global economy when writing these lyrics from the song Shape of You.

However, as the most played song to date on music streaming service Spotify, researchers and policy makers are beginning to think it’s data like this that can give a valuable insight into the mood – and therefore behaviour – of consumers.

Andy Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist, who is tasked with monitoring the country’s economic data, says that if economists want to understand what is happening, they should focus on new areas of ”big data” alongside more traditional sources.

He made the point in a recent speech that “it is estimated that 90% of all data ever created occurred in the past two years. A good chunk has come courtesy of social media.”