Public scholar: Fanny Gravel-Patry
Fanny Gravel-Patry
Why are women turning to Instagram to care for their mental health?
Fanny Gravel-Patry (she/her) is a PhD candidate and lecturer in Concordia's communication studies department. She holds a BA and MA in Art History from Université de Montréal. She studies mental illness, media practices of care and digital visual culture.
Fanny's dissertation looks at the Instagram practices of women living with mental illness and their use of the app as a tool for care. Her work was recently published by Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal in a special issue on digital images. In addition to her research, Fanny has been the communications officer of the Communication Doctoral Student Association since 2019 and she is an active member of the Feminist Media Studio. Her doctoral research is supported by Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture (FRQSC) and Concordia University.
Join the conversation
Fanny Gravel-Patry: Turning to Instagram for mental health support
Fanny's blog posts
-
In this blog post, Public Scholar Fanny Gravel-Patry debunks 3 of the most common misconceptions about the impact of social media on mental health. Read more -
Public Scholar Fanny Gravel-Patry reflects on life with mental illness and what happens when we embrace failure as a position from which to see the world otherwise. Read more -
Social media are changing how public health messages are disseminated, as well as transforming public health research. In this article, Public Scholar Fanny Gravel-Patry explores how using a feminist social media research framework can benefit public health in doing research that is more focused on people and their needs. Read more -
As many are preparing for a new school year, Public Scholar Fanny Gravel-Patry reflects on the need to incorporate rest into our work routines. Read more -
Inspired by the lessons of the pandemic, Public Scholar Fanny Gravel-Patry imagines how we can better mental health resources for students as we move forward. Read more
Recent activity
- July 27 - Article in The Conversation: “Instagram therapy” and how women use social media for mental-health support, solidarity
- October 5 - La Conversation: La thérapie par Instagram, ou l’utilisation des réseaux sociaux comme soutien en santé mentale pour les femmes
- October 5 - Interviewed by Geneviève Pettersen for her radio show on QUB: J'ai trouvé des réponses à mes troubles de santé mentale sur Instagram, dit Fanny Gravel-Patry
- October 13 - Spotlight story: Fanny Gravel-Patry is researching social media use and mental illness
- October 14 - Op-ed in The Gazette: Opinion: Don't shame young women for how they use social media
- October 20 - Presenter at the Canadian Mental Health Associaiton National Conference: Making Media, Doing Care: Normalizing Mental Illness on Instagram
- October 26 - Interrogating Mental Health Hypervisibility: Education, Social Media, and the Future of Accessibility
- May 3 - Place Publique, Radio-Canada: Entrevue sur les réseaux sociaux et la santé mentale dans le cadre de la semaine la santé mentale