To share vulnerability is to show strength: A discursive study of self-disclosure by Chinese cancer patients on short-form video platforms

Abstract

The widely-used social media have offered Chinese cancer patients online sites for self-disclosure. Collecting self-disclosing discourses from 200 Chinese cancer patients on TikTok and SnackVideo, this study systematically analyzes the discursive strategies employed by Chinese cancer patients and their emotions expressed during self-disclosure, with the help of NVivo 12 and LIWC 2015. As a result, it is found that: (1) Chinese cancer patients display self-disclosure oriented toward facts, relationships, desires, and experiences discursively; (2) Chinese cancer patients showed a higher proportion of positive emotions than negative emotions, with female patients being more conservative and stable than their male counterparts when disclosing positive emotions. To some extent, the findings above would shed insights into the provision of psychologically inclusive support for the cancer patients in Chinese culture and beyond.