Author:
Vargas Meza Xanat,Koyama Shinichi
Abstract
AbstractTrypophobia has attracted scientific attention in recent years. Few related studies have recruited participants using online methods, and even less is known about health communication in an environment where trypophobia was first widely discussed (i.e., the Internet). This study describes communication patterns in a Facebook group for trypophobia by detecting frequent topics, top contributors, and their discourses. We identified key commenters and performed word frequency analysis, word co-occurrence analysis, topic modeling, and content analysis. Impactful users posted and replied more often when discussing peer-reviewed science. Triggering content was actively removed by the group administrators. A wide variety of triggers not discussed in trypophobia-related literature were frequently mentioned. However, there was a lack of discussion on peer-reviewed treatments. The combination of a few expert and many supportive amateur gatekeepers willing to understand trypophobia, along with active monitoring by administrators, might contribute to in-group trust and the sharing of peer-reviewed science by top users of the trypophobia Facebook group.
Funder
Topic-Setting Program to Advance Cutting-Edge Humanities and Social Sciences Research Area Cultivation
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference75 articles.
1. Skaggs, W. Are you afraid of holes? Scientific American. Available at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-you-afraid-of-holes. Accessed March 8, 2020 (2014).
2. Google. Google trends. Available at: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=trypophobia. Accessed May 1, 2018 (2018).
3. Le, A. T., Cole, G. G. & Wilkins, A. J. Assessment of trypophobia and an analysis of its visual precipitation. Q. J. Exp. Psychol. (Hove) 68, 2304–2322 (2015).
4. Wilkins, A. What is visual discomfort?. Trends Neurosci. 9, 343–346 (1986).
5. Aminuddin, I. & Lotfi, H. A. Understanding trypophobia: The fear of holes. Malays. J. Psychiatry 25, 69–72 (2017).