In a previous blog post, we shared a preview of our survey analysis. Overall, our survey results showed a nuanced picture of social media engagement.
On one hand, many people had positive and joyful experiences with using social media for engaging with their interests. Through platforms like Instagram and TikTok, participants could connect with other people, learn new things, and feel part of a community.
• “I am now very present on instagram and twitter with a wrestling fan account where i have been noticed 130+ times by some of my fav wrestlers which makes me estatic.”
• “I feel happy that I can relate to people. Excited to learn new things, and it makes me feel calm when I’m happy and relaxed and feel safe in a community.”
At the same time, participants also shared their experiences of stigma and stereotyping on social media. For some participants, posting about interests was associated with anxiety and social judgement, while others described being targeted by harassment or even bullying.
• “In some communities id be happy to share all interests, but there are some interests that are stereotypically associated to autism which I wouldn’t openly talk about – I have had bad experiences in person with having interests that are not of the norm I tend to feel that I am seen as aloof or trying too hard to be different for having these interests”
• “I feel often anxious when posting and sometimes people are mean and target autistic groups and I get hateful comments, then I often have a meltdown.”
Do these findings resonate with your experience of using social media? We’d like to showcase first-hand accounts from autistic young people. If you are an autistic young person aged 16-26, then we invite you to share with your experience of using social media for engaging with your interests. We invite contributions of around 400 words that we can share on our blog.
As a guide, you can consider the following questions:
• How do you use social media for engaging with your interests? (e.g., joining Discord servers, sharing stories to Instagram, reading Reddit posts)
• In your experience, what are the benefits of social media for engaging with your interests? What are the drawbacks?
• What would you like to change about social media? What would your ideal social media space look like?
Important note: these blog posts will not be analysed as part of our research project. Instead, they are a chance for you to share your experiences with wider audiences. You can remain anonymous if you wish. We are unfortunately unable to offer compensation for these blog posts. We also cannot guarantee that we will be able to share all of the blog posts we receive.
To submit your contribution, or if you have any questions, please email Jessica Aiston (j.aiston@qmul.ac.uk) with the subject line ‘Autism in Affinity Spaces – Blog Posts’.
