People always have concerns about using the Internet regardless of whether it’s for a credit card transaction, or for meeting a potential partner. So it’s no surprise to us that those concerns have been brought to the fore once more when it comes to online support groups and meetings.

In this 5 part series, we address those concerns and show you how they are overcome.

Part 3. Social Isolation and the Internet

An out-dated but still prevalent stereotype is that of the socially maladjusted Internet user. Concerns about this arise from the assertion that people who frequently use the Internet become more socially isolated as a consequence*.

Recent data suggests that Internet users do not differ from non-users in terms of social networks, with one study finding little difference between time spent socialising with friends (9.7 hours for users and 9.9 hours for nonusers; Lebo, 2000) or participation in a club or volunteer organisation (2.4 hours for users, 2.0 hours for nonusers).

Another telephone study revealed that 72% of Internet users had visited a friend or relative on a given day compared to 60% of nonusers (Lenhart, 2000). And comparing data from a number of Internet studies with 21 year olds from 3 university pools, Gosling, Vazire, Srivastava & John (2004) found no difference in neuroticism or introversion and thus concluded that the preconception of the Internet user as socially maladaptive is a myth.

In terms of how this applies to online support groups, the depression online support group study we mentioned in part one of this series shows that people who have fewer sources of tangible support use and benefit from online support groups. Without the same kind of social risk involved in face-to-face encounters, people may find it easier to seek help online.

What’s more, some mental illnesses are accompanied by a sense of shame that can cause delay in seeking treatment (Fairburn et al., 1993; Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2002). Communicating online allows users to feel safe while exploring emotions and developing bonds (Colon, 1997). If there is an inherent problem of introversion or isolation in a user, online support groups may serve as a platform from which someone can “graduate” to more traditional tangible support networks.

In terms of the reach of the Internet, it is truly endless. The Internet can bring together people with relatively rare disorders, as well as disorders that are debilitating or pose mobility problems (Davison et al., 2000).

Online support has been shown to be provide support across traditional, educational, status and age-related boundaries, serving to reinforce the theory that computer mediated communication removes social and economic  barriers of the users (Winzelberg, 1997).

*One early study (Kraut et al., 1998) reported how people in 73 households demonstrated a significant decrease of social contact and increase in depression after the households got Internet access.  This study received much publicity and attention by. However, a much less publicised follow-up study revealed that the depression effect was not reliable, and Internet users are not, in fact, unusually socially maladjusted (Kraut et al., 2002).