A is for anonymity – NHS professionals online

A is for anonymity – NHS professionals online

by | Jul 15, 2012 | NHS stuff, PhD | 29 comments

Online personal identities will be a key theme of my virtual ethnography. I’m curious about the names, avatars and biographies we choose to have online, particularly for people using social media to engage with others on the topic of mental distress in a personal and/or professional capacity. Qian and Scott (2007) explore the affordances and risks of blogging in relation to the subjective self. Their research suggests that sharing personal thoughts and experiences in the virtual public domain carries risks, with possible real-life costs, and as a result anonymous identities and pseudonyms are common place.  The mental health literature clearly shows that online anonymity for highly stigmatised conditions is one of the primary benefits identified by people who have lived experience. Schrank et al have identified that people use the internet for health-related information as it affords anonymity and egalitarianism (2012). In addition to anonymity, Powell & Clarke (2006 & 2007) also found that people using the internet for mental health information value its possibilities for providing privacy, convenience and accessibility. I have found quite a bit of research literature related to people using the web in relation to their personal experience of mental health difficulties but far less about people who are working within statutory services (however, there are quite a few blog posts on the subject). This is still a tricky area for many, with much of the professional guidance focusing on avoiding negative consequences and less on the potential benefits. I have chosen to use my real name and avatar. It didn’t really occur for me to do otherwise at the time. It does mean I...
Should we take anti-social tweeps to task?

Should we take anti-social tweeps to task?

by | Jul 3, 2012 | mental health | 4 comments

This post is written collaboratively between myself and Sue @BPDFFS, who has a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and works on a self-employed basis, for Sheffield Health and Social Care Foundation NHS Trust, providing training for staff about BPD and psycho education classes for people with a diagnosis of BPD. She also runs #BPDChat with @brokenmind_and @CarlDunnJr. This blog came about as a result of a conversation we had about a recent incident when some tweeps observed what appeared to be grooming of vulnerable young women, affected by mental health problems, on Twitter. This post isn’t about what did or didn’t actually happen, but more about our reaction to it and the questions it raised for us about how we should/shouldn’t respond to stuff that looks like anti-social or abusive behaviour online. We don’t have the answers ourselves but here are a few of our thoughts that we hope will spark a bit of a debate. Legality – firstly we wondered what the legal position is in relation to this sort of inappropriate behaviour on Twitter . People have been charged by the police for racist tweets and Twitter is the perfect anti-alibi – it’s all there in the digital footprint. Case proven. We came across @CEOPUK which is the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre. You have to dig about a bit but there is a section on their website for young people up to the age of 16, and parents, with advice about bullying and unwanted approaches online. You can report such behaviour to them direct. Amplification – one way to expose an unpleasant tweet is to...