Date of Award
Spring 4-29-2022
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Liberal Studies
Department
Communication and Digital Studies
Department Chair or Program Director
Anand Rao
First Advisor
Anand Rao
Major or Concentration
Communication and Digital Studies
Abstract
The role of service animals (SA) in public life is often disputed online where people show their emotion, feelings, and experiences with SAs or as an SA handler. The purpose of this study was to examine how public social media discusses service animals using the hashtag #service animal. Instagram posts regarding the hashtag #serviceanimal were studied under an inductive approach to content analysis using open coding. The results show that service animals are spoken of in a positive light in public social media posts which is contradictory to the physical public’s perception. There is great responsibility bestowed upon service animals to loyally protect and serve their handlers. Many people have trouble understanding this concept without first-hand experience. Social media can be a means of educating within and outside the service animal community on proper etiquette and manners surrounding service animals.
Recommended Citation
Pak, Kenna, "How Service Animals Are Discussed in Social Media" (2022). Student Research Submissions. 481.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/481