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| Trauma on the internet: A content analysis of trauma-related tweets | | | Stephanie Feil Johnson | | University of North Texas | | | Amanda Kraha | | University of North Texas |
INTRODUCTION The internet is becoming an increasingly important resource for the acquisition of health information. As of 2008 the internet eclipsed health care providers as consumers’ leading source of health information (Elkin, 2008). Further, a reported 62% of internet users obtain health related information via social networking sites (Fox, 2011). Twitter, a microblogging social network, is the second largest social networking website. Given the vast number of users and amount of health information shared over the internet it would behoove researchers to gain a better understanding of this exchange of information. Recently researchers began analyzing the health information exchanged on Twitter (McNeil, Brna, & Gordon, 2012; Sullivan et al., 2012). McNeil and colleagues analyses on the topic of epilepsy revealed that the internet community perpetuates negative attitudes and stigmatization (2012). The current study sought to extend our understanding of how health information is disseminated through social networking sites by investigating the nature of the trauma-related information shared on the social networking site Twitter.
METHOD A qualitative content analysis was conducted using trauma-related Twitter status updates (referred to as tweets). Tweets were searched for those including the terms: #traumatic, #traumatizing, #PTSD, #posttraumaticstress. Messages were coded for content using a scheme based on previous research with eight categories: 1) Personal story 2) Non-personal account 3) Opinion/Cliché 4) News/Educate 5) Advertising 6) Metaphor/Joke 7) Pop Culture Reference 8) Miscellaneous.
RESULTS Tweets excluded from analyses included those reposted by a second user (referred to as re-tweets; n = 96), as well as tweets posted in languages other than English (n = 14). A total of N = 643 tweets collected from an eight day period following landfall of a major storm on the northeast coast of the United States (10/30/2012-11/06/2012) were analyzed. The results indicated that when individuals are sharing personal stories of trauma or seeking advice, most frequently they use the words #traumatic or #PTSD. Educational and news related tweets are shared, and are most often tagged with #PTSD. Over 50% of all #PTSD tweets are informational in nature. Unfortunately, as is true of other health related topics, the use of jokes and metaphorical use of words related to trauma is prevalent, representing over 40% of tweets labeled #traumatic and #traumatizing.
CONCLUSIONS The internet, and social networking sites in particular, offer users the unique opportunity for information to be widely disseminated, and for users to share their personal story with others. Unfortunately, these results suggest the majority of trauma-related information being shared on Twitter is likely adding to the stigmatization of trauma through metaphorical use of trauma-related terminology and jokes. Further, while educational information is being shared, it is shared within a narrow window of tweet tags, limiting it’s availability to those seeking it. Given that the public is increasingly turning to the internet and social networking sites for health related information, it is of particular importance that agencies and individuals make an effort to change the tenor of the current dialogue. |
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