Fostering “Digital Subjectivity”: An Investigation of Digital Health Narratives in Norway, the Netherlands and Czechia

Abstract

To be able to tell the story of your illness, as well as relating to the stories of others, has always been important in people’s subjective handling of illness. In the digital age, this practice is extended to the Internet. Today there are various resources offering people possibilities to share and access health and illness narratives online. In this chapter we will look into empirical material from one particular resource, the researcher-driven national sites of DIPEx International. Based on empirical accounts from patients who have shared their narratives on the sites as well as those of its users, we provide insight into what digital health narratives might mean to people who are actually experiencing health challenges. The analysis exposes three core aspects of subjective illness formation that were related to the digital narratives: embodiment, normality and language. Approaching our empirical data through the theoretical lens of “digital subjectivity” allows for an understanding that moves beyond the conceptualisation of digital narratives as instrumental for information sharing only. Furthermore, the perspective also highlights how the distinction between online and offline practices is less relevant or fruitful when considering subjective formations of illness in contemporary society.