A master thesis from Aalborg University
Mental illness stigmatization on social media and identity construction. An intersectional case study
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-05-23
Pages
112 pages
Abstract
Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka stated on social media that they dropped essential competitions such as Tokyo Olympics and Grand Slam in France to deal with mental health issues in 2021. Once people with mental illness have been perceived as "incapable" and "weak" in general common sense, the Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles case study aims to understand if their statements have the potential for positively changing the image of mental illness in the public understanding. A total of nine in-depth interviews were collected from people who deal with mental health problems in Brazil. The results found that the participants perceive social media as an essential tool for stigma reduction. User-generated content on social media improves the discussions around mental health problems and spreads scientific information. Lastly, mental illness stigmatization occurs on different levels for people depending on their social position. In Brazil, black and poor people are the most segregated regarding mental health problems.
Keywords
Documents
Colophon: This page is part of the AAU Student Projects portal, which is run by Aalborg University. Here, you can find and download publicly available bachelor's theses and master's projects from across the university dating from 2008 onwards. Student projects from before 2008 are available in printed form at Aalborg University Library.
If you have any questions about AAU Student Projects or the research registration, dissemination and analysis at Aalborg University, please feel free to contact the VBN team. You can also find more information in the AAU Student Projects FAQs.