My partner and I choose twenty different messages from two different treads within the marriage support group—“I need some advice – His and Her Stuff” and “Pornography Addiction.” While looking for threads in support groups, we noticed that some replies were difficult to understand because of poor English and typing skills. Also many of the replies were simply advertisements not at all related to the marriage support thread.
Wallace found that increased numbers online reduced helping behavior because of decreased “noticeability,” the use of other people to interpret the environment, and a diffusion of responsibility. However, Wallace only focuses on the effect of numbers in helping behavior. Walther and Boyd suggest that it is more than numbers that influence helping behavior in online settings because when a person is online, they do not know exactly how many observers and responders are present. Walther and Boyd (2003) incorporate four dimensions of attraction to online social support: social distance; anonymity; interaction management; and access. Social distance states that there is an appreciation of the greater expertise available in the larger online social network. Perceived and real anonymity increases the ability to avoid embarrassment, thus increasing confidence in providing support. The interaction management dimension states that users appreciate the ability to craft messages carefully when providing support and to read at their own convenience when receiving support. In addition, CMC gives users unlimited access to online support systems outside of typical daily set schedules.
Another study regarding online social support is Braithwaite et al (1999), in which messages in a disability social support group were coded based on information (i.e, advice, referral, and situation appraisal), tangible assistance (i.e. loan, active participation, and expression of willingness), esteem support (i.e. compliments, validation, and relief of blame), network support (i.e. access, presence, and companions), and emotional support (i.e. sympathy, empathy, and encouragement). Aside from these primary coding schemes, humor was discussed.
Our findings primarily supported the Walther and Boyd study because the number of responses to a particular thread did not depend on the actual number of individuals present in the online community. We believe that people were more willing to participate and provide online support due to Walther and Boyd’s four dimensions because users are global (social distance); participants most likely do not know one another, provoking them to provide support (anonymity); online users are able to carefully create messages (interaction management); and online threads allow users to respond, provide, and receive support at their earliest convenience (access).
Our findings did not fully align with the findings of Braithwaite, et al. because we had the ability to choose what support group and threads were investigated and coded. We found that 85% of our messages (the majority) were coded as information because most responses gave advice, provided websites, and steps for coping. Our next highest was coded as esteem support, at 75%. This was apparent in the pornography addiction thread, as this involves a significant amount of self-disclosure. Responders replied without judgment and some even provided personal validation by stating their personal experiences. At a close third, there was a high amount of emotional support in the first thread concerning spousal differences (70%). People were more willing to respond to this topic with empathy and sympathy based on user’s spousal experiences. In the pornography addiction thread, there was a great deal of encouragement to quit the addiction (or make money by producing their own pornography!). We also noticed that a great deal of humor was used within both threads (45%).
This experiment supports the idea that online social support can be very beneficial for all people coping with any type of issue. For instance, we learned a very valuable lesson from this assignment: make your pornography addiction monetarily beneficial by creating your own porn!
| % inter-rater reliability | 0.8833333 | |||
| frequency | % of msgs | |||
| Information | 17 | 0.85 | ||
| Tangible assistance | 1 | 0.05 | ||
| Esteem support | 15 | 0.75 | ||
| Network support | 3 | 0.15 | ||
| Emotional support | 14 | 0.70 | ||
| Humor | 9 | 0.45 | ||
Partner: Josh Navarro (purple)
Thread #1
Thread #2
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