"Everybody Puts Their Whole Life on Facebook": Identity Management and the Online Social Networks of LGBTQ Youth

Sexual Racism on Geosocial Networking Applications and Identity Outness Among Sexual Minority Men in the US

Although the use of geosocial networking (GSN) applications for relationship seeking is prevalent among sexual minority men (SMM), SMM of color may be vulnerable to sexual racism online. Little is known about how sexual racism relates to SMM of color's identity outness, which is integral to the minority stress model and the focus of this study. Eighty SMM, recruited through social media (53.7% racial/ethnic minority), reported their experiences of race-based discrimination on GSN apps and identity outness. Chi-squared and Fisher's tests examined differences in race-based discrimination online by participants' race/ethnicity. A factorial MANOVA was performed on outness to family, peers, and healthcare providers. Nearly one-third of participants experienced race-based discrimination online. Higher percentages of SMM of color experienced race-based discrimination than White SMM. SMM who experienced race-based discrimination online reported lower outness to family than those who had not. Post-hoc analyses revealed that Asian SMM reported consistently lower outness than other groups. Our findings resonated with the mediation framework of minority stress, suggesting that sexual racism online may be a distal stressor that contributes to the group-specific process of identity outness. This also illustrated the importance of addressing sexual racism on GSN apps to buffer existing stress with outness among SMM of color.

Social Support-Seeking Strategies on Social Media at the Intersection of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Identity, Race, and Ethnicity: Insights for Intervention From a Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals experience a disproportionately higher prevalence of mental health challenges when compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Moreover, they exhibit increased engagement with social media platforms relative to their peers. Understanding the intersectional dynamics of their identities is crucial in elucidating effective and safe approaches to garnering social support through social media channels. This exploration holds significance for informing future research endeavors and shaping targeted interventions to address the unique mental health needs of LGBTQ+ individuals.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies used by Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White LGBTQ+ young adults to acquire social support from social media. The study aimed to examine how these strategies may differ by race and ethnicity.

METHODS

We conducted semistructured interviews with LGBTQ+ young adults aged between 18 and 30 years recruited in the United States from social media. Of 52 participants, 12 (23%) were Black, 12 (23%) were Hispanic, and 28 (54%) were non-Hispanic White. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data.

RESULTS

The analysis uncovered both divergent and convergent strategies among participants of different races and ethnicities. Black and Hispanic young adults exhibited a preference for connecting with individuals who shared similar identities, seeking safety and tailored advice. Conversely, non-Hispanic White participants demonstrated minimal preference for identity-based advice. Seeking support from anonymous sources emerged as a strategy to avoid unwanted disclosure among Hispanic participants. Furthermore, all participants emphasized the importance of content filtering with family members to cultivate positive and supportive social media experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

This study sheds light on the strategies used by LGBTQ+ individuals of different racial and ethnic backgrounds to seek social support from social media platforms. The findings underscore the importance of considering race and ethnicity when examining social support-seeking behaviors on social media in LGBTQ+ populations. The identified strategies provide valuable insights for the development of interventions that aim to leverage social support from social media to benefit the mental health of Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White LGBTQ+ young adults.

'Coming out'/self-disclosure in LGBTQ+ adolescents and youth: International and Indian scenario - A narrative review of published studies in the last decade (2012-2022)

Background

People who identify themselves as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and others (LGBTQ+) go through a process of self-exploration and self-identification during adolescence, and the process resolves when one decides to self-disclosure. The experience of 'Coming Out' (CO) can be positive, leading to acceptance and a feeling of liberation, or it can be harmful, leading to stigma, humiliation, and discrimination, subsequently leading to significant psychological distress.

Aim

This study was to do a narrative review on the studies published in the area/topic of CO in youth in the last decade (2012-2022) and to look for factors that act as barriers and facilitators of CO. Additionally, we have tried to look for differences in CO in LGBTQ+ adolescents and youth in the Western world vis-a-vis Indian/Eastern societies.

Materials and Methods

An extensive literature search in electronic databases, PUBMED, Web of Science, EMBASE, Medline, Scopus, and search engine 'Google Scholar' using specific search terms and assessment of all published articles until 20th May 2023 was done.

Results

Twenty-three studies were found eligible for data extraction, which discussed the problems faced during the CO process. Most of the studies are from developed countries, and only one is from India. Eleven were qualitative studies, 11 were cross-sectional studies, and one was a case study. The qualitative studies focused on generating themes of CO along with various issues/problems faced by the participants. The cross-sectional studies mainly explored parental reactions, stigma, parental support, psychological distress, and perceived stress in the participants. Major themes emerging from the qualitative studies were the experience of prejudice from various strata of society, such as parental, societal, racial, cultural, and religious factors that lead to problems of hiding, internalized homophobia, and anticipatory rejections that put this population under extreme conditions. Limited research is available from Eastern societies. More recently, the new generation of adolescents has taken the help of social media platforms for self-disclosure.

Conclusions

CO is an elaborate multi-step process that considers the presence of parental/family and societal support, cultural/traditional values, and several psychosocial factors that determine the degree of positive outcomes. Emerging data indicated an improved trend of adolescents deciding to come out to families or in online platforms, both of which are associated with challenges, more in eastern collectivistic societies and developing countries.

Navigating the Role of LGBTQ+ Identity in Self-Disclosure and Strategies Used for Uncertainty Reduction in Online Dating

Online dating platforms pose novel challenges for personal privacy, self-disclosure, and uncertainty management. Emerging evidence suggests that LGBTQ+ users may be especially impacted by issues like personal privacy and misrepresentation online. LGBTQ+ identity disclosure is often fraught with pressures related to stigma, fear of accidental disclosure to unintended, undesired audiences, and the possibility of facing harassment and violence. How these identity concerns may manifest in uncertainty reduction strategies in online dating contexts has not yet been examined. To understand this relationship, we replicated and extended precious work examining self-disclosure concerns and uncertainty reduction strategies when online dating with a focus on LGBTQ+ users. Participants were surveyed on the amount of personal information they disclosed, the uncertainty reduction strategies they used, and concerns about disclosure. We found that use of uncertainty reduction strategies was predicted by concerns of personal security, misrepresentation of communication partners, and the possibility of being recognized. We also found that using these strategies predicted the frequency of specific self-disclosure in online dating situations. These findings support the value in continuing to understand the ways in which online information sharing and relationship development are influenced by social identity.

Online health community for change: Analysis of self-disclosure and social networks of users with depression

Background

A key research question with theoretical and practical implications is to investigate the various conditions by which social network sites (SNS) may either enhance or interfere with mental well-being, given the omnipresence of SNS and their dual effects on well-being.

Method/process

We study SNS’ effects on well-being by accounting for users’ personal (i.e., self-disclosure) and situational (i.e., social networks) attributes, using a mixed design of content analysis and social network analysis.

Result/conclusion

We compare users’ within-person changes in self-disclosure and social networks in two phases (over half a year), drawing on Weibo Depression SuperTalk, an online community for depression, and find: ① Several network attributes strengthen social support, including network connectivity, global efficiency, degree centralization, hubs of communities, and reciprocal interactions. ② Users’ self-disclosure attributes reflect positive changes in mental well-being and increased attachment to the community. ③ Correlations exist between users’ topological and self-disclosure attributes. ④ A Poisson regression model extracts self-disclosure attributes that may affect users’ received social support, including the writing length, number of active days, informal words, adverbs, negative emotion words, biological process words, and first-person singular forms.

Innovation

We combine social network analysis with content analysis, highlighting the need to understand SNS’ effects on well-being by accounting for users’ self-disclosure (content) and communication partners (social networks).

Implication/contribution

Authentic user data helps to avoid recall bias commonly found in self-reported data. A longitudinal within-person analysis of SNS’ effects on well-being is helpful for policymakers in public health intervention, community managers for group organizations, and users in online community engagement.

The process of contemporary gay identity development in China: The influence of internet use

Background

Adolescence and emerging adulthood are critical periods for an individual's sexual identity development. The internet has become a primary avenue for gay identity exploration. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the internet in Chinese young gay male's sexual identity development.

Methods

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 37 gay males aged 16 to 29. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methods.

Results

Three categories of identity development in relation to use of the internet were identified: (1) Gay identity confirming, which includes verifying same-sex attraction and connecting the attraction feeling to gay identity through consumption of pornography, Tanbi (boy's love) materials, and searching for information online. (2) Gay identity practicing, includes interacting with the gay community to gain understandings of gay subcultures and make close gay friends, engaging in same-sex sexual and romantic relationship development through online group and interpersonal interactions. The internet practice impact on an individual's cognition and behavior by presenting same-sex sexual contact is normal and common, facilitating longing for a romantic relationship, and facilitating relationship development; and (3) Gay identity coping, includes increasing self-acceptance of gay identity, gaining a sense of belonging in the gay community, increasing autonomy in sexual and romantic relationship development, and growing consideration of coming out to parents. Young gay males' coping efficacy was gained through the lessons learned from identity practice.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that an individual's internet practice facilitates gay identity confirmation, enriches identity practice, and promotes the transition from self-identification to identity disclosure and integration. Internet practice also threatens to young gay males' sexual risk behavior, emotional hurts from failed romantic relationships. Interventions including sexual identity education and healthy internet use strategies need to be developed tailored to the developmental characteristics.

Using social media as a platform to publicly disclose HIV status among people living with HIV: Control, identity, informing public dialogue

Disclosure of HIV status is usually considered a private encounter involving only a limited number of people at a time. Many people living with HIV are strategic about deciding in what contexts, using which approach, to whom, and to what extent they disclose HIV status. However, social media platforms provide opportunities for people to publicly disclose information about themselves to their networks. Utilising semi-structured interviews with people recently diagnosed with HIV in Australia, we explore how, why, and using what strategies people living with HIV use social media as a means of publicly disclosing positive HIV status. Participants placed importance on having control of how they framed their life with HIV and adopted strategies to control the audience to whom they disclosed. Public disclosure on social media helped participants come out of the 'sero-closet', empowered identity affirmation, and enabled them to be voices for other people living with HIV to shift public dialogue. We conclude that public disclosure of a positive HIV status can strip HIV disclosure of being associated with delivering private and unpleasant information, and instead reframe living with HIV from a responsibility to disclose to a right to share.

Social media use and health and wellbeing of LGBTQ youth: A systematic review (Preprint)

Background

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals are at higher risk of poor mental health and well-being. Social media platforms can provide LGBTQ youths with a space that counters heteronormative environments and potentially supports mental health and well-being. Mental health includes an individual’s state of psychological and emotional well-being and not merely the absence of mental disorders.

Objective

We sought to identify how LGBTQ youths and adolescents use social media for connection with other LGBTQ peers and groups, identity development, and social support and how these affect mental health and well-being.

Methods

PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) procedures were used to guide this review. Searches were conducted in ACM Digital Library, CINAHL, Ovid Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, and Web of Science in March 2021. This review focused on LGBTQ youths aged 10 to 24 years. Included peer-reviewed studies must comprise social media; explore peer connection, identity development, or social support; and be published from 2012 onward. In total, 2 researchers extracted data and performed quality assessments independently using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for quantitative articles and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for qualitative articles. Qualitative synthesis was performed on articles that satisfied the eligibility criteria.

Results

A total of 26 studies (n=15, 58% qualitative; n=8, 31% quantitative; n=3, 12% mixed methods) met the inclusion criteria. Of the 8 quantitative studies, 6 (75%) were cross-sectional, and 2 (25%) were cohort studies. All studies ranged from moderate to high quality. Social media was a popular tool used by LGBTQ youths to connect with LGBTQ communities. In qualitative data, we found that LGBTQ youths negotiated and explored identity and obtained support from peers on social media. Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter were commonly used to access LGBTQ content owing to ease of anonymity. Identity management was the most studied social media affordance, important to LGBTQ youths for strategic disclosure. Key strategies for managing identities included being anonymous, censoring locations or content, restricting audiences, and using multiple accounts. Quantitative studies (3/8, 38%) showed that social media was associated with reduced mental health concerns and increased well-being among LGBTQ youths. Mental health concerns arising from social media use were attributed to discrimination, victimization, and policies that did not accommodate changed identities.

Conclusions

We found that social media may support the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ youths through peer connection, identity management, and social support, but findings were limited by weaknesses in the evidence. More robust and longitudinal studies are needed to determine the relationship between social media use and LGBTQ mental health, particularly among adolescents. The findings may inform interventions to promote social media health literacy and the mental health and well-being of this vulnerable group.

Trial Registration

PROSPERO CRD42020222535; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=222535

Complex Outness Patterns Among Sexual Minority Youth: A Latent Class Analysis

Prior scholarship has documented health-relevant consequences of sexual minority youth (SMY) sexual identity disclosure (i.e., "outness"), yet most of the extant work focuses on one social context at a time and/or measures outness as dichotomous: out or not out. However, SMY are out in some contexts (e.g., family, friends) and not in others, and to varying degrees (e.g., to some friends, but not to all). Using a national sample of 8884 SMY ages 13-17 (45% cisgender female, 67% White, 38% gay/lesbian and 34% bisexual, and 36% from the U.S. South), this study used latent class analysis to identify complex patterns of outness among SMY, as well differences in class membership by demographics, depression, family rejection, and bullying. The results indicated six distinct classes: out to all but teachers (n = 1033), out to siblings and peers (n = 1808), out to siblings and LGBTQ peers (n = 1707), out to LGBTQ peers (n = 1376), mostly not out (n = 1653), and very much not out (n = 1307). The findings reveal significant differences in class membership by age, sexual identity, gender identity, race and ethnicity, geography, and well-being outcomes. Moreover, these findings underscore the complex role of outness across social contexts in shaping health and well-being.

Use of social media data for disease based social network analysis and network modeling: A Systematic Review

Burden due to infectious and noncommunicable disease is increasing at an alarming rate. Social media usage is growing rapidly and has become the new norm of communication. It is imperative to examine what is being discussed in the social media about diseases or conditions and the characteristics of the network of people involved in discussion. The objective is to assess the tools and techniques used to study social media disease networks using network analysis and network modeling. PubMed and IEEEXplore were searched from 2009 to 2020 and included 30 studies after screening and analysis. Twitter, QuitNet, and disease-specific online forums were widely used to study communications on various health conditions. Most of the studies have performed content analysis and network analysis, whereas network modeling has been done in six studies. Posts on cancer, COVID-19, and smoking have been widely studied. Tools and techniques used for network analysis are listed. Health-related social media data can be leveraged for network analysis. Network modeling technique would help to identify the structural factors associated with the affiliation of the disease networks, which is scarcely utilized. This will help public health professionals to tailor targeted interventions.

Online data collection strategies used in qualitative research of the health field: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify and map the online data collection strategies used in qualitative researches in the health field. Methods: This is a scoping review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) from the Joanna Briggs Institute. We analyzed scientific articles, theses and dissertations from 12 databases. The analysis was made by descriptive statistics. Results: The final sample consisted of 121 researches. It was found that the number of publications increased sharply in the last five years, with predominance of studies from the United Kingdom. The highlight fields were psychology (28.1%), medicine (25.6%) and nursing (12.4%). The publications used 10 online data collection strategies: Online questionnaires, online forums, Facebook, websites, blogs, e-mail, online focus group, Twitter, chats, and YouTube. Conclusions: Online data collection strategies are constantly expanding and increasingly used in the health area.

"I Don't Feel Like the Odd One": Utilizing Content Analysis to Compare the Effects of Social Media Use on Well-Being Among Sexual Minority and Nonminority US Young Adults

PURPOSE

Although there is evidence of associations between social media (SM) use and mental well-being among the general population, these associations among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons are poorly understood. This study compared the influence of SM experiences on mental well-being between LGB and non-LGB persons.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Online cross-sectional survey.

PARTICIPANTS

National sample of 2408 US adults aged 18 to 30 years.

METHOD

We asked participants to provide examples of when SM affected their well-being separately in good and bad ways. We coded, summed, and used rate ratios (RRs) to compare responses of LGB and non-LGB individuals. Thematically similar codes were described and grouped into categories.

RESULTS

Most responses described positive SM effects. However, of 6 codes that were significantly more frequent among LGB respondents, only social capital (RR = 1.58, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-2.12) described a positive effect. Five codes described negative effects of SM for LGB users: negative emotional contagion (RR = 1.28, 95% CI, 1.04-1.58), comparison with others (RR = 1.28, 95% CI, 1.01-1.62), real-life repercussions (RR = 1.86, 95% CI, 1.18-2.94), envy (RR = 2.49, 95% CI, 1.48-4.19), and need for profile management (RR = 2.32, 95% CI, 1.07-5.03).

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that, for LGB persons, gaining social capital from SM is valuable for establishing and maintaining connections. Increased negative SM experiences may pose a risk for the mental well-being of LGB individuals.

Assessing the stability of egocentric networks over time using the digital participant-aided sociogram tool Network Canvas

This paper examines the stability of egocentric networks as reported over time using a novel touchscreen-based participant-aided sociogram. Past work has noted the instability of nominated network alters, with a large proportion leaving and reappearing between interview observations. To explain this instability of networks over time, researchers often look to structural embeddedness, namely the notion that alters are connected to other alters within egocentric networks. Recent research has also asked whether the interview situation itself may play a role in conditioning respondents to what might be the appropriate size and shape of a social network, and thereby which alters ought to be nominated or not. We report on change in these networks across three waves and assess whether this change appears to be the result of natural churn in the network or whether changes might be the result of factors in the interview itself, particularly anchoring and motivated underreporting. Our results indicate little change in average network size across waves, particularly for indirect tie nominations. Slight, significant changes were noted between waves one and two particularly among those with the largest networks. Almost no significant differences were observed between waves two and three, either in terms of network size, composition, or density. Data come from three waves of a Chicago-based panel study of young men who have sex with men.

Interpersonal Sensitivity and Loneliness among Chinese Gay Men: A Cross-Sectional Survey

To understand the current status of, and factors related to interpersonal sensitivity (IS) and loneliness among Chinese gay men. The Chinese version SCL-90-R was used to evaluate the status of IS, and the short-form UCLA Loneliness scale (ULS-8) was used for assessing loneliness level. Associations between demographics and IS were examined by chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regress analysis. Linear regression was used to assess the correlations between demographic factors and IS and loneliness. Dating practices and venues were summarized by multiple responses. Gay men who screened positive IS was identified in 36%. Age (OR_25-29 = 8.731, 95% CI 2.296 to 33.139), education level (OR_college = 0.037, 95% CI 0.046 to 0.911), being the only-child at home (OR_yes = 4.733, 95% CI 2.293 to 9.733), monthly income (OR_>7000 = 0.228, 95% CI 0.055 to 0.944), numbers of current sexual partners (OR₁ = 0.285, 95% CI 0.129 to 0.629; OR₂ = 0.109 95% CI 0.027 to 0.431) were related to IS. IS was also associated with a higher score of ULS-8 (β = 6.903, p < 0.001). Other variables associated with the score of ULS-8 included: living in a non-nuclear family (β = 0.998, p = 0.020), being a college student (β = -1.556, p = 0.044), having a higher monthly income (β for 3000-5000 yuan = -1.177, p = 0.045; β for over 7000 yuan = -2.207, p = 0.002), having sexual partners (all β < 1, p < 0.001), being the only-child (β = 1.393, p = 0.005). Nearly half of the sample (46.78%) reported that they looked for dating partners on the Internet or dating apps. IS and loneliness are positively correlated. Our study suggests that more humanistic care and social support should be given to Chinese gay men.

Health Information Engagement Factors in Malaysia: A Content Analysis of Facebook Use by the Ministry of Health in 2016 and 2017

Health organizations have widely adopted social media for health promotion, public health communication conveyance, and organizational promotion activities. However, little published data exists on the factors that facilitate health information diffusion in South East Asia, especially Malaysia compared with Western countries. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with good engagement rates among internet users on the Facebook (FB) page of Ministry of Health Malaysia. In this observational study, 2123 FB posts were randomly selected. Data dated from 1 November 2016 to 31 October 2017 was gathered from the Facebook Insight. The logistic regression model was applied to identify factors associated with good engagement rates. This study found that a FB post with a good engagement rate was significantly associated with a health education post (Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR): 3.80, 95% Confidence Interval CI: 3.02⁻4.78, p < 0.001), a risk communication post (AOR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.39⁻2.26, p < 0.001), a post in the afternoon (AOR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.34⁻2.31, p < 0.001) or in the evening (AOR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.20⁻1.82, p < 0.001), and a video format (AOR: 3.74, 95% CI: 1.44⁻9.71, p = 0.007). Therefore, we present the first comprehensive analysis of health information engagement among internet users in Malaysia. The growing trends of online health information-seeking behaviors and demand for the availability of validated health information require effective strategies by public health organizations to disseminate health information and achieve better audience engagement on social media.