LGBTQ+? Use social media and have feelings about it? Earn up to $100 to share your stories!

Pride FlagThe Social Media Lab at Northwestern University invites you to participate in a research study that explores how people who are LGBTQ+ experience and express our true selves online.

Participants will keep a diary using FocusGroupIt. You might prefer to participate in the pilot study, or in the main study.

Pilot Study

Over 2 weeks, you’ll be asked to:

  • Write about one time you felt true to yourself, and one time you felt untrue to yourself, while using social media
  • Keep a diary for two weeks, noting the times when you feel true to yourself, and the times you feel untrue to yourself
  • Draw a “map” of how you see your online world and how you express yourself within it
  • Complete a brief exit interview (~30 minutes)

Participants in the pilot study will be compensated $50 via Visa eGift Card.

Main Study

Over 4 weeks, you’ll be asked to:

  • Write about one time you felt true to yourself, and one time you felt untrue to yourself, while using social media. After completing this task, you will receive $10.
  • Keep a diary for four weeks, noting the times when you feel true to yourself, and the times you feel untrue to yourself. After two weeks, you will be compensated another $10.
  • Draw a “map” of how you see your online world and how you express yourself within it. After completing this task, you will be compensated $80.
  • You can earn an additional $25 for completing an in-depth follow-up interview (~60 minutes)

To participate, you must identify as LGBTQ+ (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, or other sexual/gender minority), be at least 18 years old, live in the U.S., and use social media 3x/week or more. You must also be willing to make a (free) FocusGroupIt account.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the screener questionnaire here. If you have any questions, please email the co-investigator Julia Fernandez from the Department of Communication Studies at SML-study@u.northwesern.edu.

 

This study is funded by the Sexualities Project at Northwestern, and it has been approved by the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board (Study #STU00215218).