What Happens When People with Depression Gather Online?

Xuening Wang, Xianyun Tian, Xuwei Pan, Dongxu Wei and Qi Qi
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Xuening Wang: School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
Xianyun Tian: School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
Xuwei Pan: School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
Dongxu Wei: School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
Qi Qi: School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-12

Abstract: Depression is a common mental disease that impacts people of all ages and backgrounds. To meet needs that cannot otherwise be met, people with depression or who tend to suffer from depression often gather in online depression communities. However, since joining a depression community exposes members to the depression of others, the impact of such communities is not entirely clear. This study therefore explored what happens when people with depression gather in Sina Weibo’s Depression Super Topic online community. Through website crawling, postings from Depression Super Topic were compared with postings from members’ regular timelines with respect to themes, emotions disclosed, activity patterns, and the number of likes and comments. Topics of distilled postings covering support, regulations, emotions and life sharing, and initiating discussions were then coded. From comparison analysis, it was found that postings in the Depression Super Topic community received more comments and disclosed more emotions than regular timelines and that members were more active in the community at night. This study offers a picture of what occurs when people with depression gather online, which helps better understand their issues and therefore provide more targeted support.

Keywords: social media; online community; depression; mental health; Sina Weibo; super topic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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