JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

From a public health perspective, social media may be a viable avenue to promote mental health among Black men. As a digital tool, social media is widely accessible and increasingly used to challenge societal standards and misrepresentations of marginalized populations in the media. Social media users utilize hashtags and visual, text-based imagery to challenge misrepresentations, garner social support, and discuss a variety of health issues.

Objective:

This study presents a content analysis of hashtags about Black men and examines how visual and text-based social media messages can be used to present lived experiences of a marginalized population, as well as how the public engages with these posts.

Methods:

Posts containing #theblackmancan and #blackboyjoy hashtags were extracted from Instagram during Spring 2019. All posts were analyzed by two independent coders using a codebook. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and formative literature were used to guide analyses of how these posts related to attitudes, beliefs, and values associated with race, gender, and social support.

Results:

Of the 500 posts extracted, most were image-based (73.6%). 54.4% were posted by an individual and 27% by a community organization. 53.8% were posted by individuals from Black populations. 35.4% of posts contained images of only males. Posts depicted images of Black men as fathers (20%) and Black men being celebrated (20.2%) and expressing joy (43.4%). Posts (25.4%) also depicted Black men in relation to gender atypical behavior, such as caring for children. Variables related to education and restrictive affection showed up much less. Similarly, variables associated with SCT, such as self-efficacy (7.8%), collective efficacy (10%) and emotional support (10.2%) were rarely present in posts. Engagement via likes (Mdn = 1671, P<.001), comments (P<.001) and views (P<.001) for posts containing #theblackmancan were significantly higher compared to #blackboyjoy (Mdn = 140). Posts containing elements of celebrating Black men (P<.001) and gender atypical behavior (P<.001) had significantly higher engagement, as well. There were also significantly higher levels of engagement (P=.003) for posts containing informational support.

Conclusions:

Hashtags #blackboyjoy and #theblackmancan promote positive user-generated visual and text-based content on Instagram and promote positive interactions among Black and diverse communities. Future research should examine the relevance of utilizing these, and other, hashtags in mental health promotion. Interventional efforts should investigate the potential for such imagery to serve as culturally relevant design elements for prevention efforts geared towards mental health promotion and prevention among minority men.