”hej jag e typ deprimerad” : En etnografisk studie om ungdomars interaktion kring psykisk ohälsa på internet

Sammanfattning: Author: Amanda Petersson Title: “Hi I’m kind of depressed” - An Ethnographic Study of Adolescents’ Interaction Concerning Mental Illness on the Internet [Translated title] Supervisor: Gabriella Scaramuzzino Assessor: Torbjörn Hjort The aim of this study has been to examine how adolescents interact concerning mental illness on the Internet. I have spent time on one of the largest Internet forums that ado- lescents use in Sweden and looked at the comments that were published in 2014. An ethnographic method has allowed me to see the interaction from the adolescents’ point of view and through hidden observations I have been able to observe the interaction without the potential impact of my presence. My intention has been to reach a further understanding of the interaction. I have in my analysis I have used both Goffmans’s theory (1963/2011) on stigma and Cohen’s (1985) theory on communities in which he describes them as symbolically constructed. This study shows that adolescents choose the Internet to interact and discuss around their mental health problems because it al- lows them to avoid stigmatization. Through interaction concerning diagnosis, medica- tion and suicide the adolescent’s form a sense of community. One conclusion is that adolescents tend to use the Internet forum for self-help.