Premium Only Content
Spoonies: the culture of staying sick
Online communities have made their diagnoses their identity.
https://reason.com/video/2023/03/15/spoonies-the-culture-of-staying-sick/
______
Those who are sick and extremely online look for a community that understands them—one that accepts them and their various diseases. These individuals are referred to as "spoonies" online, a term that comes from a 2003 blog post by Christine Miserandino. In many cases, spoonies have been sick for a very long time. And since their identity revolves around their sickness, it's hard for them to imagine a world in which they are cured.
"The rise of a certain brand of extremely online identitarianism has given the chronically ill not just visibility but a tribe unto themselves, one that commands enormous attention and resources," writes novelist and culture critic Kat Rosenfield in her recent article for Reason.
Spoonies have illnesses ranging from Crohn's to lupus to chronic Lyme disease to even long COVID-19. But learning to live with their symptoms, and not actively seeking out a cure, can be a trap.
"Social media is primarily focused on awareness raising when it comes to individual spoonie influencers. But also when it comes to patient foundations, their sort of public-facing persona is not so focused on things like pursuing innovative therapies or pushing for a cure, because what plays well on social media oftentimes is misery," says Rosenfield.
Produced by Natalie Dowzicky; edited by Regan Taylor; graphics by Isaac Reese, Danielle Thompson, and Nathalie Walker.
Photo Credits: Hellerhoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Envato Elements.
Music Credits: "Rebreather," by Javapsych via Artlist; "Split Soul," by Dan Mayo via Artlist; "Mono No Aware," by Sun Wash via Artlist.
-
1:50:49
ReasonTV
1 day agoWho is the lesser evil? | Dave Smith, David Stockman, and Jacob Grier | Just Asking Questions
3661 -
1:53:28
Glenn Greenwald
4 hours agoMedia Fabricates Trump’s Call For Liz Cheney’s Execution; Slate Writer Demands Usha Leave JD; Darren Beattie On 2024 & Pakistan | SYSTEM UPDATE #361
37.6K2 -
1:12:53
Havoc
5 hours agoListener's Lounge - The Chat Takeover
11.6K -
LIVE
Tundra Gaming Live
6 hours agoOne More Day Of Zombies Then Back To Warthunder
507 watching -
6:43:15
Right Side Broadcasting Network
2 days agoLIVE: President Trump Delivers Remarks at a Rally in Warren, MI - 11/1/24
258K22 -
36:53
Stephen Gardner
3 hours ago🔥Col. Douglas Macgregor: Kamala's inexperience is DANGEROUS | Israel & Ukraine NEED Trump!
27.8K40 -
DVR
Nerdrotic
6 hours ago $33.98 earnedWoke Hollywood Collapse, Agatha Farts in the Wind - Friday Night Tights 326 w/ Baggage Claim, Savvy
73K -
1:46:14
2 MIKES LIVE
3 hours ago2 MIKES LIVE #137 with Special Guests KEVIN SHIPP, KENT HECKENLIVEY and JOHN MIRRIONE!
14.9K -
1:18:31
Sarah Westall
5 hours agoRemote Viewers on Antarctica, Hive Mind & Our Future w/ Allgire, Riordan, Smith
14.8K1 -
LIVE
LFA TV
8 hours agoTRUMP RALLY LIVE IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN 6PM EST
2,748 watching