Understanding Disclosure and Support for Youth Mental Health in Social Music Communities

Abstract

Online music platforms that include social networking features sometimes become supportive social communities where young people can disclose their emotional distress and receive support. However, few studies have examined young people's disclosure in social music communities or the support they provide or receive. In this study, which focuses on a large online music platform as a research site, we used mixed methods to analyze young users' comments (N = 163) and the associated replies (N = 2,732) related to their psychological distress (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness). We found that the main types of comments involved experience sharing, and these comments often invoked peer support in the form of encouragement, caring, or self-disclosure. We also conducted an interview study with 13 young users of our research site to understand their perceptions of and motives for engaging in disclosure and support. The interviewees stated that music-induced and comment-induced emotional resonance was the main reason for their disclosure and support. Finally, we discussed the implications of our findings for designing a supportive social music community to benefit youth mental health.