By Julia May

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Crosby/Dr. Rao

Abstract

In 2021, I conducted participant observation research on the Herman Cain SubReddit, examining the effectiveness of fear appeals on social media. In that research, I determined that fear appeals on social media platforms are just as effective as they are when used on mass media platforms. The research also showed that the fear appeals in the subreddit worked to appeal to the unvaccinated users’ fear of online ridicule, rather than a fear of bodily harm. I found this finding interesting and worked to expand my research, now two years later, by further investigating the platform using Protection Motivation Theory and the Health Belief Model Theory, two health behavior theories I discovered during my initial research. In my current research, I use these two theories to analyze the forum, as well as the effects of fear of online ridicule in health communication.