Mental health information online: what we have learned from social media metrics in BuzzFeed’s Mental Health Week

Abstract Introduction The Internet has seen rapid growth in the number of websites focusing on mental health content. Considering the increased need for access to accurate information about mental health treatment, it is important to understand the promotion of this information online. Objective To analyze BuzzFeed’s Mental Health Week (BFMHW) interactions on its own website and in related social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) using metrics of information delivery in mental health topics. Methods We extracted social media metrics from the 20 posts with the highest number of BuzzFeed interactions on the BFMHW website and from 41 videos available on the BFMHW playlist created by the BuzzFeed Video profile on YouTube. We analyzed the format and content used in BuzzFeed’s publishing methods as well as the following social media metrics: exposure (presence online, views and time online), influence (likes) and engagement (comments, shares, replies and BuzzFeed interactions). Results Analysis of the variables revealed that audience engagement is associated with the number of medias in which the content is published: views on YouTube and shares on Facebook (0.71, p摘要与引言：互联网上聚焦心理健康内容的网站数量呈现快速增长态势。鉴于当前公众对获取精准心理健康治疗相关信息的需求日益提升，明晰此类信息的网络传播现状具有重要意义。 研究目标：依托心理健康主题信息传播相关指标，分析BuzzFeed心理健康周（BuzzFeed’s Mental Health Week, BFMHW）活动在其官方网站及关联社交媒体平台（Facebook、Twitter、YouTube）上的互动表现。 研究方法：我们从BFMHW专题网站上互动量最高的20篇帖文，以及YouTube平台上BuzzFeed视频账号创建的BFMHW专属播放列表中的41个视频中提取了社交媒体相关指标；同时分析了BuzzFeed的内容发布形式与创作思路，以及以下几类社交媒体指标：曝光度（网络可见度、播放量与在线时长）、影响力（点赞数）与参与度（评论、转发、回复及BuzzFeed平台互动量）。 研究结果：变量分析结果显示，受众参与度与内容发布的平台数量存在关联：YouTube播放量与Facebook转发量（0.71, p