Exploring the discourses around microdosing psychedelics within the r/microdosing online community
Ioana Pop, Erwin Gielens, Hannah Kottmann, Peter Achterberg
Social Science & Medicine February 22, 2024 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116702 via OpenAlex
Summary
The analysis of discussions on the r/microdosing subreddit revealed 16 distinct topics related to microdosing psychedelics, with a majority focusing on practical 'how to' advice. This suggests that online communities are vital for sharing knowledge about microdosing practices. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was noted, indicating that individuals may view microdosing as a form of self-medication during stressful times. These findings highlight the sociocultural factors affecting healthcare practices.
Study at a glance
| Design | qualitative study |
|---|---|
| Population | discussions from the r/microdosing subreddit community |
| Key finding | The majority of discussions in the r/microdosing subreddit focused on practical advice, indicating that online communities facilitate knowledge dissemination about microdosing. |
Abstract
In the present contribution, we examine the practice of microdosing psychedelics (microdosing) through textual analysis of the content produced by a dedicated online community, the r/microdosing subreddit. We collected a comprehensive dataset of publicly available submissions from this community and used structural topic modelling to identify and analyse the prevalent topics within the discussions. Through our analysis, we identified 16 distinct topics that mapped into clinical, human enhancement, as well as self-medication narratives. Notably, we found that the majority of discussions revolved around "how to" topics, supporting our argument that such online communities serve as essential information hubs, facilitating the dissemination of practical knowledge related to microdosing practices among the general population. The identified impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the prevalence of discussion topics suggests that individuals within the online community may perceive microdosing primarily as a means of self-medication during times of heightened stress and uncertainty. Our findings contribute to the field of health sociology and psychedelic research by shedding light on the sociocultural factors influencing healthcare practices, including the role of online communities in facilitating processes of self-medicalization and self-medication.