Representing Depression in Social Media: Content Analysis of Mental Support Posts on Weibo in China

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_68How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Depression; Social Support; China; Weibo; social media

Abstract

Depression remains a significant mental health challenge in China, where stigma and cultural concerns about depression often discourage open discussion. Weibo, one of the most popular content-sharing platforms in China, have become an important space for sharing individual experiences and seeking support. Yet, little is known about how different forms of support are exchanged in the quasi-public sphere. This study analysed 150 top-ranked posts from Weibo’s Depression Super Topic by using content analysis under the theoretical framework of social support theory. Posts on Weibo were coded as support-seeking or support-providing and categorised into emotional, informational, or instrumental types, with qualitative notes documenting culturally specific expression styles. The findings show that the community primarily functions as a safe space for emotional disclosure, with help-seeking far outweighing help-providing and emotional support dominating the discourse. Informational support is limited, and instrumental support is absent, highlighting potential unmet needs and platform constraints.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Xueting Wang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/25
TI  - Representing Depression in Social Media: Content Analysis of Mental Support Posts on Weibo in China
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 614
EP  - 623
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_68
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_68
ID  - Wang2026
ER  -