Nickname as a Means of Linguistic Self-Presentation in the Internet of People with Eating Disorders

Keywords: Internet communication, linguistic self-presentation of personality, discourse analysis, nickname, eating disorders.

Abstract

The article analyzes the peculiarities of language self-presentation of Internet users. The results of the study of nicknames as means of linguistic self-presentation of persons with eating disorders in the specialized Internet forums are presented.

The psychological analysis of users’ nicknames of sites of anorexic and overweight individuals is presented which gives an opportunity to assert that nicknames reflect the specific nutritional problem and self-administration of a person in connection with it. The predominance of the female audience of such sites is revealed and hence the greater urgency of the problem of standards of the body for women. In the process of analysis, on the basis of psycholinguistic and projective approaches, the main categories of nicknames are singled out: exo-decorative names; metaphorical, decorative and mysterious nicknames; mythical and fantasy characters; destructive, problem image; names that reflect the physical status, etc.

It has been established that nicknames as attributes of linguistic self-presentation of users of specialized forums, is a symbolic projection of the discourse of their existence and reveals the features of real or desired body parameters; dissatisfaction with weight, with your body, yourself and life in general; fixation on the issue of nutrition and weight reduction; the desire to be fenced off from reality. Differences in the linguistic self-presentation of anorexics and overweight individuals are revealed, in particular, a more positive modality of self-presentation of overweight individuals; the representation of various categories of linguistic self-presentation in these groups which allows to assert the difference in the mechanisms of psychological protection in these groups of users. The analysis of the features of nicknames as a means of linguistic self-presentation is useful both for the purpose of psychodiagnostics of people with eating disorders, as well as in the process of developing and providing them with psychological assistance.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Akimova, N. V. (2016). Deyakі faktorу varіativnostі rozumіnnya Internet-komunіkatsіуi [Some factors of the variability of understanding of Internet-communication]. Naukoviy vіsnуk Izmaуilskogo derzhavnogo gumanіtarnogo unіversitetu – Scientific Bulletin of the Izmail State Humanitarian University, 35, 123–128 [in Ukrainian].
Alexenko, N. N. (2000). Psihoanaliticheskie aspekty povedeniya cheloveka v kiberprostranstve [Psychoanalytic aspects of human behavior in cyberspace]. Zhurnal prakticheskoy psihologii i psihoanaliza – Journal of Practical Psychology and Psychoanalysis, 3, 91–107. Retrieved from http://psyjournal.ru/articles/psihoanaliticheskie-aspekty-povedeniya-cheloveka-v-kiberprostranstve [in Russian].
Bochelyuk, V., & Panov, M. (2018). Problemne pole psiholIngvIstichnih doslіdzhen diskursu sotsіalnуh onlayn-merezh [The problem field of psycholinguistic studies of the discourse of social online networks]. Psiholіngvіstika – Psycholinguistics, 24(1), 79–96. https://doi.org/10.31470/2309-1797-2018-24-1-79-96 [in Ukrainian].
Burlachuk, L. F. (2008). Psihodiagnostika [Psychodiagnostics] (2nd ed., rev.). Moscow, Peter [in Russian].
Burnayeva, E. M., & Zatulii, A. I. (2012). Gendernyie idealyi: osobennosti samoprezentatsii polzovateley interneta [Gender Ideals: Peculiarities of Self-Representation of Internet Users]. Vestnik TOGU – Almanac TOGU, 1(24), 297–304 [in Russian].
Voiskunsky, A. E. (2001). Razvitie rechevogo obshhenija kak rezultat primenenija Interneta [Development of Speech Communication as a Result of Use of the Internet]. Proceedings from SPPPIT’01: Mezhdunarodnaja internet-konferencija na inf.-obrazovatelnom portale www.auditorium/ru «Socialnye i psihologicheskie posledstvija primenenija informacionnyh tehnologij» – The International Online Conference on the Information and Educational Portal www.auditorium/ru «Social and Psychological Consequences of the Application of Information Technologies». (pp. 232–242). Moscow [in Russian].
Vorobey, Yu. V. (2015). Internet-komunіkatsiya ta Internet-komunikant: vzaemodiya i vzaemoporodzhennya [Internet communication and Internet communicator: interaction and intercourse]. Science and Education a New Dimension. Philology, III(16), Issue 70, 43–46 [in Ukrainian].
Goroshko, E. I. (2008). Psiholingvistika Internet-kommunikacij [Psycholinguistics of Internet Communications]. Voprosy psiholingvistiki – Journal of Psycholinguistics, 7, 5–12 [in Russian].
Zhichkina, A. (2004). Sotsialno-psihologicheskie aspekty obscheniya v Internete [Socio-psychological aspects of communication on the Internet]. Moscow: Dashkov i Ko [in Russian].
Zasеkіna, L. V. (2008). Psiholіngvіstika, movlennеva dіyalnіst, osobistіst: spіvvіdnoshennya ponyat u kontekstі movlennеvoуi genezy dytyny [Psycholinguistics, speech activity, personality: correlation of concepts in the context of the child's speech genesis]. Gumanitarniy visnik Pereyaslav-Hmelnitskogo derzhavnogo pedagogichnogo universitetu imeni Grigoriya Skovorody – Humanitarian Almanac of the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky State Pedagogical University named Gregory Skovoroda, 15, 83–85 [in Ukrainian].
Ovsienko, L. (2013). Tekst yak ob’ekt vyvchennya psiholingvistiki [Text as an object of studying psycholinguistics]. Teoretichna i didaktichna filologiya –Theoretical and didactic philology, 15, 58–69 [in Ukrainian].
Orap, M. O. (2014). Psihologiya movlennevogo dosvidu osobistosti [Psychology of the person's speech experience]. Ternopil: Textbooks and manuals [in Ukrainian].
Shabshin, I. I. (2005). Psihologicheskie osobennosti i fenomenyi kommunikatsii v Internete [Psychological features and phenomena of communication on the Internet]. Moskovskiy psihoterapevticheskiy jurnal – Moscow Psychotherapeutic Journal, 1, 158–182 [in Russian].
Shebanova, V. I. (2016). Fenomenologiya harchovoyi povedinki v kontinuumi «norma – patologiya» [Phenomenology of food behavior in the continuum «norm – pathology»]. Kherson: Publishing House of Vyshemirsky V.S. [in Ukrainian].
Shevchenko, I. S. (2003). Variativnost samoprezentatsii lichnosti v Internet-obschenii [Variability of self-presentation of the person in Internet communication]. Candidate’s thesis. Kazan [in Russian].
Scherbakova, N. V. (2009). Psevdonim dlya virtualnoyi osobystosti [Nickname for virtual person]. Psiholіngvіstika – Psycholinguistics, 3, 179–183 [in Ukrainian].
Branley, D. B., & Covey, J. (2017). Pro-ana versus Pro-recovery: A Content Analytic Comparison of Social Media Users’ Communication about Eating Disorders on Twitter and Tumblr. Frontiers in psychology, 11(8), 13–56. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01356
Dickins, M., Thomas, S. L., King, B., Lewis, S., & Holland, K. (2011). The role of the Fatosphere in fat adults’ responses to obesity stigma: A model of empowerment without a focus on weight loss. Qualitative Health Research, 21(12), 1679–91. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732311417728
Bates, F. C. (2015). «I am a waste of breath, of space, of time»: Metaphors of self in a pro-anorexia group. Qualitative Health Research, 25, 189–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732314550004
Gavin, J., Rodham, K., & Poyer, H. (2008). The presentation of «pro-anorexia» in online group interactions. Qualitative Health Research, 18, 325–333. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732307311640
Goffman, E. (1986). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Reissue edition. N.Y.: Prentice-Hall.
Lyons, E. J., Mehl, M. R., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2006). Pro-anorexics and recovering anorexics differ in their linguistic Internet self-presentation. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60, 253–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.07.017
Marcus, S.-R. (2016). Thinspiration vs. thicksperation: Comparing pro-anorexic and fat acceptance image posts on a photo-sharing site. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2016-2-5
Riley, S., Rodham, K., & Gavin, J. (2009). Doing weight: Pro-ana and recovery identities in cyberspace. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 19, 348–359. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.1022
Teufel, M., Hofer, E., Junne, F., Sauer, H., Zipfel, S., & Giel, K. E. (2013). A comparative analysis of anorexia nervosa groups on Facebook. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 18(4), 413–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-013-0050-y
Wooldridge, T., Mok, C., & Chiu, S. (2014). Content analysis of male participation in pro-eating disorder web sites. Eating Disorders, 22(2), 97–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2013.864891

Abstract views: 1122
PDF Downloads: 651
Published
2019-04-18
How to Cite
Shebanova, V., & Yablonska, T. (2019). Nickname as a Means of Linguistic Self-Presentation in the Internet of People with Eating Disorders. PSYCHOLINGUISTICS, 25(1), 409-430. https://doi.org/10.31470/2309-1797-2019-25-1-409-430