TY - JOUR
T1 - Broadcasting self-injury for change
T2 - exploring the presentation of advocacy strategies on YouTube
AU - Stirling, Fiona J.
AU - Lewis, Stephen P.
N1 - © 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Data availability statement:
Not available.
PY - 2025/5/4
Y1 - 2025/5/4
N2 - This study employed an observational design to explore the presentation of advocacy strategies in YouTube videos orientated around the event of Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD). While previous research has focused on highlighting potential dangers of social media platforms like YouTube we approached our exploration from a perspective of advocacy to try and establish a more balanced understanding of how YouTube can, and does, contribute to self-injury discourses. The aim was not to define advocacy in YouTube videos but rather to understand more about the ways advocacy strategies might be presented, and what this looks like in the content produced by individuals with lived experience of self-injury. We expected to find content concerned with improving the lives of people experiencing self-injury, which could be interpreted as advocacy. Thematic analysis of thirty videos offered four themes: Community, comradery, and cheerleading; Education around self-injury; Authentic representation of self-injury; Development of advocacy identity. Findings indicate advocacy through YouTube exists and results in supportive, passionate, and resourceful content with potential to improve the wellbeing of individuals who self-injure, countering narratives of self-injury related content having a solely negative impact. Further research is required to fully understand, and harness, the potential of advocacy through online mediums.
AB - This study employed an observational design to explore the presentation of advocacy strategies in YouTube videos orientated around the event of Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD). While previous research has focused on highlighting potential dangers of social media platforms like YouTube we approached our exploration from a perspective of advocacy to try and establish a more balanced understanding of how YouTube can, and does, contribute to self-injury discourses. The aim was not to define advocacy in YouTube videos but rather to understand more about the ways advocacy strategies might be presented, and what this looks like in the content produced by individuals with lived experience of self-injury. We expected to find content concerned with improving the lives of people experiencing self-injury, which could be interpreted as advocacy. Thematic analysis of thirty videos offered four themes: Community, comradery, and cheerleading; Education around self-injury; Authentic representation of self-injury; Development of advocacy identity. Findings indicate advocacy through YouTube exists and results in supportive, passionate, and resourceful content with potential to improve the wellbeing of individuals who self-injure, countering narratives of self-injury related content having a solely negative impact. Further research is required to fully understand, and harness, the potential of advocacy through online mediums.
U2 - 10.1080/01639625.2024.2357824
DO - 10.1080/01639625.2024.2357824
M3 - Article
SN - 0163-9625
VL - 46
SP - 568
EP - 584
JO - Deviant Behavior
JF - Deviant Behavior
IS - 5
ER -