FACEBOOK USERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF DEPRESSION: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON POSTS

Abstract

The present study had the aim of understanding users’ perceptions of depression, based on posts sent on online supporting groups. This consists of a bibliographic research, which comprised exploratory and descriptive elements, for the analysis of qualitative data, which had been collected through the selection of users’ posts in supporting groups for people who have depression, on Facebook social media. The data analysis and results discussion consisted of an interpretative analysis of a collected corpus, based on Discourse Analysis (DA) theory and the use of conceptions from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This methodology could be justified once this research is qualitative and exploratory. The results of the analysis revealed different perceptions of users over depression, which most of the times diverged from scientific view. This led to the observation that CBT could be applied for the treatment of this disorder, as its techniques make cognitive restructuring of thoughts and dysfunctional beliefs possible.