Thematic analysis of social media's influence on gay men's desire for muscularity

Datasets for this study were collected using semi-structured interviews.The study granted the researcher an opportunity to elicit the experiences of gay men regarding the phenomenon being studied. Moreover, by conducting semi-structured interviews, the researcher was able to further explore each participant’s opinions and perceptions in rich detail. The researcher chose to use semi-structured interviews to focus the conversation and solicit the views of the participants that relate to the research question. 

Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. The assumption in this study is that the desire for muscularity is collectively created within society, thus there likely exists numerous and varied perceptions and meanings that gay men in South Africa subscribe to in relation to their use of social media and the influence this may have on their desire for muscularity. Recognizing general themes and exploring and dissecting them created space for a thorough discovery of how gay men in South Africa understand their desire for muscularity and how this is influenced by their use of social media.