Paper Info
Title
Self-disclosure in public and private groups of people with mental illnesses in Facebook
Abstract
Purpose The Internet enables various voices and opinions that previously did not participate in the community discourse to express themselves. People with mental illnesses make use of social networks to advance their special needs in varied ways. The study aims to examine the nature of the discourse that takes place in public and private groups of people with mental illnesses. Design/methodology/approach The research corpus consisted of the content of 615 messages taken from public and private groups of people with mental illnesses in Facebook. Linguistic parameters (the total number of words, the number of words in the first person) were examined for each message. Two skilled judges classified the messages on a self-disclosure scale to determine the degree of disclosure of personal information, thoughts and emotions. Findings The results of the study indicate that the messages published in public groups are longer than the messages in private groups; however, the level of personal disclosure in messages written in private groups is deeper than in messages written in public groups. In addition, the level of self-disclosure in opening posts was found to be greater than the level of self-disclosure in comments. Practical implications In the study, the authors focus on the ways people in excluded populations make use of virtual tools to advance both their personal and social needs. Originality/value The study is innovative, as it explores the discourse of people with mental illnesses in public and private groups on Facebook.
Year
DOI
Venue
2022
10.1108/OIR-04-2021-0212
ONLINE INFORMATION REVIEW
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Self-disclosure, Facebook groups, Mental illnesses, Social communities
Journal
46
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
5
1468-4527
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Nava Rothschild100.68
Noa Aharony214520.55