Abstract
Memes are a very effective, visual means of communication on social media sites. In this study, we examined some of the most popular memes posted on Instagram labeled with an epilepsy hashtag, in order to gain an insight into the thoughts, feelings and concerns of people with epilepsy. ‘Awareness’, ‘warrior’ and ‘sucks’ were the three most common words paired with epilepsy in the hashtag search. The most popular (liked or shared) #epilepsy memes could be classified into 9 broad categories: Seeking advice, Raising awareness, Inspirational quotes, Celebrations of seizure free milestones, Living with Epilepsy, Sharing the diagnosis, Experience of seizures, Medications and Doctor/patient interactions. Popular memes in this latter category highlighted people’s difficulties in taking in information with respect to both the breadth and complexity of the discussions in neurological consultations. Other memes in this category depicted the social and psychological challenges associated with some investigations, particularly video-telemetry studies. Analyses of some of the most popular memes posted on social media point to a number of ways in which we can improve the patient/clinician interaction. Practical strategies to address some of these issues are discussed. Memes posted on social media by people with epilepsy provide a valuable source of feedback for clinicians which enables us to improve the care we provide for this group.
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