Supporting constructive mental health discourse in social media

Johnna Blair, Saeed Abdullah

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Social media platforms can be used to provide effective support for users with mental health issues. Self-disclosure about mental health on these platforms can lead to social support and community building. However, there are also inherent risks of stigmatization and misuse of platform features for maladaptive purposes, such as to promote eating disorders. To address these issues, it is essential to understand the reasoning and mechanisms of self-disclosure regarding mental health issues. However, this can be quite challenging, given the flexibility and complexity of user interactions on these platforms. For example, users can now share content not only privately or publicly, but also permanently or temporarily. Our initial inquiry with Instagram showed a tendency to co-opt mental health hashtags to increase post popularity. Based on our initial findings, we propose a participatory design study to better understand the motivations and challenges faced by users who disclose mental health issues on Instagram. Findings from this work can guide future designs to improve user experience and provide effective social support.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 12th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, 2018
EditorsNoga Minsky, Venet Osmani
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Print)9781450364508
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018
Event12th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, PervasiveHealth 2018 - New York, United States
Duration: May 21 2018May 24 2018

Publication series

NamePervasiveHealth: Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare
ISSN (Print)2153-1633

Other

Other12th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, PervasiveHealth 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNew York
Period5/21/185/24/18

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Information Systems
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Health Informatics

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