My Story of Depression: A Content Analysis of Autobiographic Videos on Douyin

Autobiographical accounts on social media could play an essential role in shaping the public’s understanding of illnesses and dispelling illness-related stigma. This study examined how people living with depression describe their illness experiences on Douyin, China’s leading video-sharing platform, through content analysis. It finds that most videos were created by young women who have lived with the illness for over three years. The top three topics were patient psychology, experience sharing, and knowledge and medical advice. These videos provided an overall non-stigmatizing portrayal of depression, with more than 80% of the influencers using challenge cues. However, stigma cues contributed to the virality of the videos. The theoretical and practical implications of the study were discussed.