Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: McKenzie, Rachel
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590339810846625
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu15903398108466252021-08-03T07:15:11Z Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals McKenzie, Rachel Communication Mental Health Mental health is a topic becoming increasingly relevant with nearly one in five adults in the U.S. having a mental illness with varying conditions and degrees of severity, and research showing that certain types of social media use can lead to increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, social media sites also offer the opportunity for users to discuss their mental health and mental illness in supportive environments made up of others going through similar experiences. The current study focuses on mental health content on the social media site Instagram to explore how individuals’ varying levels of interdependence and independence influence their preference for Instagram content and their subsequent attitudes towards help and support seeking for personal emotional problems and symptoms of anxiety or depression. Results indicate that although Instagram posts utilizing interdependent (“We/Us”) and independent (“I/Me”) pronouns do not prime the corresponding self-construal, interdependent individuals are significantly more likely to seek help and support from the provided sources than independent individuals, and as a whole, participants preferred Instagram posts that utilize the pronoun “You”. Implications for mental health interventions and future research are discussed. 2020 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590339810846625 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590339810846625 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Communication
Mental Health
spellingShingle Communication
Mental Health
McKenzie, Rachel
Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals
author McKenzie, Rachel
author_facet McKenzie, Rachel
author_sort McKenzie, Rachel
title Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals
title_short Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals
title_full Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals
title_fullStr Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals
title_full_unstemmed Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals
title_sort independence and interdependence on social media: the impact of using mental health instagram posts to induce self-construals
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2020
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590339810846625
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