Use of Social Media can Help Improve Transgenders' Well-Being in Their Community

Twitter "big data" can help address the health issues faced by the transgender community like HIV, substance abuse and depression, suggests a study from University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).

The team found that people from these communities use social media at high rates to discuss health and social topics that are important to them.

Members of Transgender Community in West Bengal Mourn Death Of Nepali Counterparts
Seven Nepalese transgenders who were part of a transgender community called Blue Diamond Society in the Indian state were those among the fatalities.

Social "big data" technologies like Twitter offer an untapped rich source of information that can be used for the benefit of these communities. There has been little research studying transgender communities because they can be very closed communities who fear stigmatization.

"Our Institute has studied how to use ’social big data’ to address public health needs and we wanted to apply this work to address the needs of transgender communities and researchers," said study co-author Sean D. Young, executive director of the Institute for Prediction Technology at UCLA.

They collected 1,135 tweets over one day containing relevant hashtags such as "#trans" or "#girlslikeus". In all, they collected tweets from 13 such hashtags.

Positive Response from Politicos Gives Transgenders in India Hope for the Future
Mumbai-based transgender Gauri Sawant said if the bill is passed, it will reinforce their identity in India and empower them fight social stigma.

They found that 54.71% of the tweets were about positive social issues while 26.34% were about negative social issues, among them being discrimination, violence, police mistreatment and ignorance.

Nearly 11.10% were about positive personal sentiments such as pride, self-affirmation and interest in one’s appearance. Nearly 2.29% were negative personal issues such as suicide, body image dysphoria, depression, eating disorders and sexual risk behavior.

Suicide Risk Greater in Transgender Veterans
Serious suicidal thoughts and plans to attempt suicide are more likely in veterans of the U.S. armed forces who have received a diagnosis consistent with transgender status.

"These tweets provide real-time information that researchers can use to understand transgender individuals’ health and well-being," noted co-author Evan Krueger.

Transgender and gender nonconforming people are at high risk for diseases such as AIDS and are vulnerable to depression and other mental health issues, but may be reluctant to disclose their identities to researchers due to stigma.

Transgender Troops from Foreign Armies Seek End to US Military Taboo
Joining the Australian army was a bid to try to suppress what Donna Harding had known from an early age -- she was a girl trapped in a boy's body.

As a result, very little is known about their health and social needs. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal JMIR Mental Health.

Source-IANS