Abstract
While social media have been found useful in providing social support and health information, they have also been home to content advocating risky health behavior. This study focused on how content defending and even celebrating anorexia as a lifestyle are circulated among social media users, and investigates the characteristics that promote wide propagation of such messages. We captured anorexia-related content on Tumblr, a popular blog for talking about eating disorders, during a one-month period. Among the 35,432 posts collected, we examined the most highly propagated posts and coded them for message characteristics. Our findings revealed that posts in which the source of a narrative ("testimony") was identified (was either from an anorexic poster or about another's anorexia) and which were positive toward the pro-anorexia perspective were more likely to be propagated on Tumblr. In addition, posts containing content that references an anorexic person and contains an affective tone were more likely to be propagated. We also found that underweight bodies and bodies with a high degree of exposure were associated with propagation of posts. The present study suggested practical implications by focusing on the characteristics of h...Continue Reading
References
Nov 1, 1996·Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes·C Heath
Apr 15, 2010·Health Communication·Kyongseok KimJordan Lynn
Jul 17, 2010·Nicotine & Tobacco Research : Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco·Susan R Forsyth, Ruth E Malone
Aug 24, 2010·Journal of Psychosocial Oncology·Ruvanee P VilhauerAlicia K Matthews
Feb 23, 2011·Pediatrics·Stephen P LewisRick Noble
Jun 22, 2011·Psychological Science·Jonah Berger
Feb 18, 2012·Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking·Stephen P Lewis, Alexis E Arbuthnott
May 17, 2012·PloS One·Mareike BayerAnnekathrin Schacht
Jun 28, 2012·The Journal of Communication·Hyun Suk KimJoseph N Cappella
Aug 10, 2012·Health Communication·Daphna Yeshua-Katz, Nicole Martins
Sep 21, 2013·Eating Disorders·Stephanie Tom TongNathaniel Warshay
Oct 15, 2013·Journal of Health Communication·Hye-Jin PaekJung Yoon Huh
Dec 4, 2014·Health Communication·Lauren B FrankLourdes Baezconde-Garbanati
Jan 13, 2015·American Journal of Community Psychology·Eddie S K ChongIngrid H Y Pang
Oct 9, 2015·Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking·John Robert Bautista, Trisha T C Lin
Jan 13, 2016·Health Communication·Margaret L McLaughlinYujung Nam
Mar 19, 2016·Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking·Fabrizio BertRoberta Siliquini
Jul 23, 2016·Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking·Carlos A AlmenaraDavid Smahel
Jan 5, 2017·Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking·Juyoung SongJung Sun Kim
Jun 15, 2015·Digital Health·Julie M ShawMoira J Williamson
Citations
Dec 31, 2019·Journal of Health Communication·Mina Park
Jul 16, 2020·Journal of Mental Health·Matt BowenRhian Waller
Apr 20, 2018·Current Diabetes Reports·Molly E WaringSherry L Pagoto
Apr 30, 2019·Journal of Health Communication·Mina Park
Dec 20, 2019·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Sherry PagotoRan Xu
Sep 5, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Mariusz Duplaga
May 27, 2021·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Jinhee LeeMyung-Bae Park
Nov 30, 2021·PloS One·Sooyoung KimYesim Tozan
Nov 13, 2019··Md. Yasin KabirSanjay Madria