Autistic Joy on Tumblr

Abstract

Tumblr is a unique social media site with a very distinct culture and design. Many of its users are autistic or otherwise neurodivergent, queer or disabled. The site offers its users more control over the content see and other forms of personalization than other sites, and many users are there to pursue niche interests. Although the site and its culture are different from other social media platforms, it has brought and continues to bring joy to many people. Tumblr has largely been overlooked in the academic literature. This study uses semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to examine autistic adult Tumblr users’ positive and negative experiences on the site, as well as what strategies they employ to seek out the former and avoid the latter, focusing on positive experiences overall. The themes that emerged included the presence of communities with shared interests and identities, the ability to find useful information and resources, an overall lack of pressure to pursue fame and engagement, and aspects of the web design like the tagging system.