Create Solidarity Networks: Dialogs in Reddit to Overcome Depression and Suicidal Ideation among Males

Gisela Redondo-Sama, Teresa Morlà-Folch, Ana Burgués, Jelen Amador and Sveva Magaraggia
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Gisela Redondo-Sama: Department of Pedagogy, University Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
Teresa Morlà-Folch: Department of Business Management, University Rovira i Virgili, 43204 Reus, Spain
Ana Burgués: Department of Sociology, University of Granada, 18001 Granada, Spain
Jelen Amador: Department of Sociology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
Sveva Magaraggia: Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milan-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-15

Abstract: The emerging scientific literature examines masculinity and gender roles as risk factors for suicide ideation or suicide in young adults and adolescents. In this vein, recent studies show that certain traditional masculine norms are related to poorer mental health-related outcomes, which influences suicide and suicide ideation. This study contributes with new understandings about the associations between masculinity and suicidal ideation among males through Reddit debates in English. The posts with more interactions referring to masculinity in the topics gender and education have been selected on Reddit, emphasizing transformative personal experiences potentially helping avoid suicide ideation. Through the analysis of Reddit posts, it is shown how users can generate spaces to express the diverse ways to live with masculinity. The discussions on Reddit in the different areas selected demonstrate the existence of proposals on how to overcome fears and facilitate relaxation of norms regarding self-reliance to encourage help-seeking when feeling depressed and therefore at greater risk of suicide ideation. The results highlight the potential importance of platforms such as Reddit to create solidarity networks, showing multiple ways of being a man and demystifying dominant masculinity by sharing different experiences.

Keywords: masculinity; suicide; suicide ideation; communicative content analysis; social media analytics; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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