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Tweeting about sexism: The well‐being benefits of a social media collective action
Author(s) -
Foster Mindi D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
british journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 2044-8309
pISSN - 0144-6665
DOI - 10.1111/bjso.12101
Subject(s) - action (physics) , collective action , psychology , social psychology , affect (linguistics) , social media , cognition , communication , political science , politics , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , law
Although collective action has psychological benefits in non‐gendered contexts ( D rury et al ., 2005, B r . J . S oc . P sychol ., 44, 309), the benefits for women taking action against gender discrimination are unclear. This study examined how a popular, yet unexplored potential form of collective action, namely tweeting about sexism, affects women's well‐being. Women read about sexism and were randomly assigned to tweet or to one of three control groups. Content analyses showed tweets exhibited collective intent and action. Analyses of linguistic markers suggested public tweeters used more cognitive complexity in their language than private tweeters. Profile analyses showed that compared to controls, only public tweeters showed decreasing negative affect and increasing psychological well‐being, suggesting tweeting about sexism may serve as a collective action that can enhance women's well‐being.