Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Journalism (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Journalism

Advisor/Mentor

Hu, Sisi

Committee Member

Schulte, Bret

Second Committee Member

Kayser, Casey

Third Committee Member

Blackstone, Ginger

Keywords

Journalism; Mass Media Communication; Mental Health Stigma; Mental Illness; News Coverage; Social Media

Abstract

More young people are reporting increased viewership of health content across social media platforms, with only 55% of adults reporting this in a 2025 KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) poll. While trust in this form of information is low, consumption is increasing, alongside traditional news articles’ agenda-setting that discusses the same information in a different format. The goal of this research is to explore the effects of consuming first-person mental health content on social media for people with mental illness, more than just documenting its existence, and if audiences report a sense of belonging through this social media content. The results suggest that the viewing of personal mental health narratives on social media for audiences with similar disorders can provide a more empathetic approach to mental health coverage because participants reported more well-rounded representation, deeper emotional connection to the content, and increased feelings of belonging, characterized also by perceived comfort and continued engagement with posts of that kind. This study also uncovered that social media’s algorithms, particularly platforms Instagram and TikTok, play a fundamental part in the spread of mental health content as well as the tone of said media, and therefore affect viewership and emotional responses. These findings raise the possibility that incorporating this sense of community and first-person perspective into news coverage could increase both readership and sense of belonging to promote understanding in the field of mental health, an avenue that future research should explore.

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