Social Media Use, Identity and Chronic Pain

Abstract

Objective Chronic pain can have a significant impact on adolescent development and may detrimentally affect young people’s peer relationships and identity formation. These issues have been influenced by the emergence of social media. Research in the wider chronic illness population suggests social media use may provide social support, space for identity experimentation, and assist condition self-management. However, there are risks to online engagement related to chronic illness such as over-identification with chronic illness identities. The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of adolescents’ who share about their pain online, and how these relate to identity. Design Ten participants who use social media to actively post about chronic pain shared their experiences in individual semi-structured interviews. Key themes were identified using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results and Conclusions Key themes were 1) connection to peers, 2) a space for identity development, and 3) evolving and managing use over time. Interacting online facilitated the integration of pain into identity and offered social support. These factors are relevant to self-management of pain, and future research should explore how social media use is related to outcomes such as emotional wellbeing and pain coping. Research into social interventions for this population is also warranted. Keywords Chronic pain, adolescents, social media, identity, social development