Author(s)

Xiaojun Li ¹, Wenxi Xu ²

Affiliation(s)

¹ Experimental Teaching Center of Journalism and Communication, Anhui University, Hefei, 230000, China
² School of Journalism and Communication, Anhui University, Hefei, 230000, China

Corresponding Author

Xiaojun Li

ABSTRACT

This study explores how thyroid cancer patients construct illness narratives on China's short-video platform Douyin, examining the types, experiences, and meanings of self-disclosure in visual social media contexts. Drawing on Frank's narrative typology—restitution, chaos, and quest—the analysis of 426 videos from 12 patient accounts reveals a dynamic interplay of narrative forms. Restitution narratives emphasize recovery and normalization, chaos narratives express disorientation and emotional turmoil, while quest narratives highlight personal growth and resilience. Findings demonstrate that visual storytelling enables multimodal meaning-making, identity reconstruction, and public advocacy, transforming private suffering into shared knowledge. The study underscores the role of digital platforms in reshaping health communication, offering new insights into the cultural, technological, and emotional dimensions of online patient narratives.

KEYWORDS

Narrative Analysis; Self-Disclosure; Visual Social Media; Thyroid Cancer

CITE THIS PAPER

Xiaojun Li, Wenxi Xu, A Narrative Analysis of Thyroid Cancer Patients' Self-Disclosure Behaviors on Visual Social Media. Media and Communication Research (2025) Vol. 6: 172-179. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2025.060420.

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