Online Social Support Groups: Aiding Healing After Tragedies

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The Dutch Government has opened an exclusive online forum for next of kin and direct friends of victims in the plane crash in Ukraine, where information, experiences, and grief can be shared. Such an online community is a form of online social support; the physical and emotional support which can be given by family, friends, or colleagues. Several studies indicate that online social support is the series of assistance given to improve the quality of life (Albrecht & Adelman, 1987; House & Kahn, 1985). Albrecht and Goldsmith (2003) argue that social support partly increases mental and physical well-being. Recently, an increase can be observed in the number of online social support groups (OSSG), such as online fora, blogs, and websites. OSSGs …show more content…

Because people are valued for the information they give, it can be liberating for those who suffer from prejudices as age, sex, weight, or disabilities to attend OSSGs. Text-based communication gives possibilities to contribute in a discussion, without having to have social interaction. Moreover, text-based communication enables the user to choose for selective self-presentation (Walther, 1996). Online, people can present themselves different compared to a FtF setting. For instance, presenting yourself more friendly, educated, and wealthier. Selective self-presentation is not only seen in OSSGs, but also on dating websites, online games, or communities (Walther & Boyd, 2002). Therefore, it enables people in OSSGs to focus on the content rather than the looks of a person and the online communities facilitate structured information and tacit knowledge in an a-synchronous way. Another disadvantage of OSSGs are the short term relationships build. Tanis (2008) argues that interaction on OSSGs can expand their network, however these are people who otherwise are not be contacted (weak-ties). Most participants stop interaction in the online settlement when they feel better, as a result long relationships were not

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