Date

3-22-2024

Department

School of Communication and the Arts

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Communication (PhD)

Chair

Marie Mallory

Keywords

mental health, content creators, influencers, social penetration theory (SPT), social media, online communities, self-disclosure, communication, TikTok, content analysis

Disciplines

Communication

Abstract

The following research used a qualitative content analysis to explore the communicative and communal characteristics of online communities that form around the topic of positive mental health communication on the social media platform TikTok. These characteristics were analyzed in the context of social penetration theory in consideration of how TikTok influencers use thematic messaging and acts of self-disclosure to build and enhance their online communities centered on positive mental health communication. In total, 135 TikTok videos and their accompanying comment feeds were analyzed to identify emergent themes, patterns, and concepts relative to the communicative and communal characteristics that define online communities dedicated to the topic of positive mental health. The findings suggested the existence of common themes across the video messages of TikTok’s influencers and content creators, as well as the content feeds of those interacting textually with viewed video content. This study documents the prominent types of mental health messaging that commonly present themselves in the content curated and disseminated by both professional and non-professional content creators and influencers. The possibilities for future investigation that build upon this study’s findings are numerous and possess the capability to further illuminate the topic of mental health communication within the academic field of communication on a larger and more specified scale.

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