Analysis of Traffic and Interactions of NSSI-Related Posts on Tumblr

Introduction: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a maladaptive coping mechanism in which individuals cause intentional damage to bodily tissue without suicidal intent (International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) www.itriples.org; Nock, 2010). Motivations include emotional regulation, punishing oneself, or “calls” for help (Klonsky, 2009; Klonsky, 2007). It is a behavior that often impacts adolescents and young adults (Klonsky, 2009) who use social media as a source of social support. Previous research has established that NSSI images, posts, and memes exist on multiple social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and various message boards (Lewis & Arbuthnott, 2014; Moreno, Ton, Selkie, & Evans, 2016), but has yet to examine Tumblr, a social media platform that is more frequently used by young adults and adolescents.

Methods and Aims: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the amount of traffic within themes related to NSSI, to determine which themes received the most traffic, as measured by number of “notes” per post (notes includes likes, reblogs, and comments), and to examine any posted quotes or comments related to the overall themes.

Results: A total of 407 individual posts resulting from five NSSI-related search terms were analyzed and seven overall themes emerged from the data: “depression and suicide” (46%), “triggering” (14%), “self-hate” (12%), “cries for help” (11%), “mental health organization” (6%), “NSSI-related organization” (7%), and “talk of addiction” (2%). The posts that garnered the most traffic (as measured by the number of notes per post) were from NSSI-related organizations and mental health organizations, with those themes each receiving more traffic individually than all the remaining themes received collectively; however, these two categories rarely elicited comments from other Tumblr users. The depression and suicide theme contained some of the most expressive posts and often had more comments attached to individual posts. Some notes contained comments that were encouraging or supportive; others agreed with what the original poster stated or reinforced what they said. Some comments to posts were negative/bullying comments (e.g. "If you're gonna do it, then [sic] it. Enter the spirit realm and stop faking it.")

Conclusions: From a prevention standpoint, possessing the knowledge that individuals seek out this form of support allows practitioners, mental health experts, and primary care providers to incorporate inquiry about how those at risk for NSSI or suicidal behavior utilize these forms of social media; and if this source of support helps or hinders their behaviors.