Chen, Yating and Lee, Charity and Ang, Pei Soo (2024) Perspectivization in the thematic exploration of atypical depressive self-talk in an unmanaged online depression community on Weibo. Discourse, Context and Media, 62. ISSN 2211-6958, DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2024.100820.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Unmanaged online depression communities (ODCs), which are self-formed without managers or professional support groups, are characterized by negative emotional sharing that is often context-absent and highly selfattentional. The atypical features of emotional narratives pose challenges for examining the communities' communication patterns and themes of sensemaking. This study explores some methodological perspectives for conducting a thematic analysis of the mundane, fragmented, and uncontextualized emotions related to depression in the largest unmanaged ODC in Weibo, named `Zoufan'. By adopting the small stories research paradigm from narrative analysis and incorporating the concept of perspectivization, this study offers an in-depth thematic and narrative analysis of depressive self-talk online. It first identifies three salient theme clusters - `punishment', `deprivation', and `failure' - to reveal how the `Zoufan' members conceptualize their lived experience with depressive episodes, and then maps the theme clusters with the commenters' passive, powerless, and paradoxical perspectivization of the self in their narratives. Methodologically, the study underscores the effectiveness of small stories research in the thematic exploration of atypical depressive self-talk on social media. Practically, it provides insights for mental health professionals, educators, parents, and other stakeholders to better understand depressive self-talk in the context of Weibo.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund [Grant no. 2021-513] |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Thematic analysis; Narrative analysis; Online depression community; Small stories; Self-talk; Perspectivization |
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PE English |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Languages and Linguistics |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Oct 2025 01:55 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Oct 2025 01:55 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/46490 |
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