Elina Kang
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
UROP Fellowship: Center for Human Growth and Development
Research Mentor(s): Ellen Selkie, MD, MPH
Department of Pediatrics
Presentation Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 | Session 1 | Presenter: 1
Authors: Elina Kang, Ellen Selkie
Abstract
Introduction:
South Korea has one of the highest rates of suicides in the world, with an estimate of 26.9 suicides per 100,000 individuals, and for years, suicide has remained the leading cause of deaths for South Korean adolescents. In contrast, while suicide rates have been increasing over the past decade, the United States has had much lower rates of suicide, with 14.2 suicides per 100,000 individuals. Social media use is ubiquitous among adolescents globally, but not much has been studied to explore the discussions surrounding depression and depression recovery on social media in Korea, and no research has compared depression-related content between Korean and English language social media. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of depression and depression recovery discussions that occur on Korean Instagram, as well as to compare the attitudes toward depression on Korean and English language Instagram.
Methods:
A content analysis was conducted to assess depression-related discourse. We collected the top 25 trending Instagram posts for each of the tags #Depression, #DepressionRecovery, and #MentalHealth. Collection for Korean posts related to depression was repeated for the same tags in Korean: #우울증, #우울증극복, and #정신건강. A total of 150 posts and their respective comments were examined. A codebook was designed and applied to posts to evaluate the stereotypes, symptoms, attributions, and stigma surrounding the posts one might encounter when seeking depression-related content in the app. Analysis included descriptive statistics and Chi-squared tests to determine difference in frequency of codes.
Results:
Currently, 50 posts have been coded in Korean and 50 in English. Preliminary analyses show 65 % of the top trending posts about depression in Korean included stereotypes about people with depression, while only 16% of posts made in English contained a stereotype. Furthermore, statements supporting those with depression were present in only 16% of posts made in Korean, while 80% of posts in English included statements of support. Full results of a total of 150 posts and 375 comments will be presented.
Discussion/Conclusions:
The findings of this study have implications for using popular social media apps as a way to educate adolescents on depression. The findings suggest that Instagram is a potential resource that could be utilized in South Korea to support the youth who struggle to access a way to get help for their mental health. Future studies could incorporate a larger sample of posts or utilize different social media platforms to explore the unique advantages and opportunities each app holds.
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Research Disciplines
Health Sciences
