The Internet and Online Communities

This week we looked at online communities and were asked to choose a certian topic from a fieldwork experience and to look for three relevent communities. One of my placements that i found really interesting was in community mental health and today i have decided to look at community mental health and online communities. These are the three communities i have decided to discuss in this post.

The International Society for Mental Health Online - https://www.ismho.org/home.asp.

The Mental Earth Community  - http://www.mentalearth.com/

No Longer Lonely, Online Social Community for Adults with a Mental Illness  - http://www.nolongerlonely.com/

The International Society for Mental Health Online

 Is a member only mental health community aimed at exploring and promtoing mental health in the digital age.
The Societys misson statement can be found by clicking this LINK.  According to the mission statement the International Society for Mental Health Online (ISMHO) was formed in 1997 to promote the understanding, use and development of online communication, information and technology for the international mental health community.  To look further indepth at what the site aims to do click this LINK. The site allows members to contribute in numerous forums that relate to hot topics in the mental health field.

The Mental Earth Community

The Mental Earth Community lists its misson  to provide support for people with mental illnesses / mental disorders, those recovering and those in remission as well as their families, friends and mental health providers in a safe and secure Environment. Looking at the home page will discuss this more indepth. To see the home page click this LINK.  The site lists four main support forums

1. The Support Board - It contains forums for a wide variety of mental disorders, where mutual support and information is given.
2. The General Board includes forums for general topics such as current events, politics, pets and a place for artistic expression such as poems, short stories, art and photography.
3. Our Entertainment Board emphasizes the therapeutic use of humor. Its forums consist of music/theater trivia, jokes, game arcade and a lounge for downright silliness. 
4. The last board is the Administration Board. This is where announcements are made, a place for community feedback and a technical help desk. 

(Mental Earth. (2012). Mental Illness. Retrieved  2 May 2012 from  http://www.mentalearth.com/ )

Members communicate through the forums, through private 'rooms' which can be impromtu or scheduled, through online photo galleries or through member blogs.

The No Longer Lonely Online Social Community for Adults with Mental Illness.

No Longer Lonely  is a free online community that allows members to find friends or seek loved ones online.  People can express themselfs by posting personal blogs, participating in forums, and sharing their poems, stories, or artwork. To see how it works and for a more indepth overview click HERE.

Disscussion

There are many reasons that people may chose to contribute to online communities, they may want to find out some more indepth knowledge around their illness, meet people suffering from the same illness or symptoms, who can relate to what a person has gone through. Some people are seeking relationships, understanding or a reciprocal sharing of knowledge around experiences. although they are not as connective as physical communities, online communities have a lot to offer people intrested in joining them. They can provide information, support and guidence when it required regardless of geograpghical location, which can limit peoples ability to attend physical communities.

In comparison to a traditional geographical community online communities have several benefits and weaknesses and limitations ...

• Online communities can compliment real communities
• Can provide large amounts of infomation over an unimited geographical area.
• Allows users to connect with people who have simular needs or illnesses.
• Can cause a digital devide, some people may not have access to the internet necessary to connect to the online community. 
• Is open to technology difficulties and misuse from participants 
• Can cause a reliance on the online community that is excessive and unhealthy for the individual. 

(Sunderland, 2012)
In terms of occupational concpets that we discuss in this course, the communities i have chosen to discuss can be closely alligned with the themes of occupational justice and occupational deprivation.

Occupational Justice is a term accredited to Wilcock and Townsend (2000) refering to justice related to activities, opportunities and resources required for occupational performance and participation suffient for a persons needs (Townsend & Christiansen, 2010). I think this is an important concept to consider in relation to online communities. There is a better spreading of resources across a geographical barrier than with physical communities. For example, the sites i chose to talk about only had one condition of entry, that a perosn either had a mental illness or worked in the mental health field. If the resources that these sites provide weren't present, there could be an occupational injustice to the people who were unable to access simular resources in their own communities.

Occupational Deprivation is a term Whiteford (2000) refers to as a prolonged  preclusion from engagement in occupations of necessity or meaning due to factors out of an individuals control (Townsend and Christiansen, 2010). This is another important concept to consider because it really highlights that the online communities can help people access resources that are relevent to them and to their lives and provide a deeper inherent  personal meaning to them.

And lastly a quick look at ethical considerations that could arise in an online community.  There is the potential for issues to arise around privacy, confidentuality and informed consent if someone is looking at a members profile or posting on an online forum. People need to be sure about what they are signing up too. Is it members only access or can anyone read/post onto the forum? Are members details keep in  a secure folder or can anyone access a members personal infomation? In some ways the ethical considerations are simular to those in a phyiscal community. There is still the need for people to aware of what they have signed up for and  for people to give informed consent for their infomation to be made avaiable to the general public.

thanks for reading

beth 



Sunderland, J. (2012). Lecture three: Online Communities [PowerPoint slides]. Dunedin, New Zealand : Otago Polytechnic.

Townsend, E. & Christiansen, C. (2010). Introduction to occupation : The art and science of living (2nd ed). New Jersey : Pearson.

 Wilcock A, Townsend E (2000) Occupational terminology interactive dialogue: occupational justice. Journal of Occupational Science: Australia, 7(2), 84-86.

 Whiteford G (2000) Occupational deprivation: global challenge in the new millennium. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(5), 200-204.