Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The Social Media Experiences of Long-term Patients: Illness, Identity, and Participation

The Social Media Experiences of Long-term Patients: Illness, Identity, and Participation Abstract The present article investigates the meanings of social media use for long-term patients, focusing on a group of Norwegian bloggers diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). This severe illness can confine patients to their homes for long periods of time, drastically reducing possibilities to participate on most social arenas and leaving Internet use as a rare opportunity for connection with the outside world. A qualitative analysis of interviews with ME bloggers investigates the meanings of social media use in this particular situation. Drawing on perspectives from research on patients’ Internet use, this phenomenon is analysed as management of identity narratives in the face of illness. However, the article further argues that the concept of participation provides a relevant supplementary perspective that highlights the societal and political relevance of these practices. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Nordicom Review de Gruyter

The Social Media Experiences of Long-term Patients: Illness, Identity, and Participation

Ytre-Arne, Brita
Nordicom Review , Volume 37 (1) – Jun 1, 2016
Download PDF
14 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/de-gruyter/the-social-media-experiences-of-long-term-patients-illness-identity-sIIfT6jrX4

References (31)

Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by the
ISSN
2001-5119
eISSN
2001-5119
DOI
10.1515/nor-2016-0002
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract The present article investigates the meanings of social media use for long-term patients, focusing on a group of Norwegian bloggers diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). This severe illness can confine patients to their homes for long periods of time, drastically reducing possibilities to participate on most social arenas and leaving Internet use as a rare opportunity for connection with the outside world. A qualitative analysis of interviews with ME bloggers investigates the meanings of social media use in this particular situation. Drawing on perspectives from research on patients’ Internet use, this phenomenon is analysed as management of identity narratives in the face of illness. However, the article further argues that the concept of participation provides a relevant supplementary perspective that highlights the societal and political relevance of these practices.

Journal

Nordicom Review – de Gruyter

Published: Jun 1, 2016

There are no references for this article.