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Background: Bereavement by suicide is associated with a number of consequences including poor mental health outcomes and increased suicide risk. Despite this, the bereaved by suicide may be reluctant to seek help from friends, family, and professionals. Internet forums and social networking sites are a popular avenue of support for the bereaved, but to date there is a lack of research into their use and efficacy., Aims: To survey users of suicide bereavement Internet forums and Facebook groups regarding their help-seeking behaviors, use of forums, and perceived benefits and limitations of such use., Method: This study employed a cross-sectional design in which users of suicide bereavement Internet forums and Facebook groups completed an anonymous online survey., Results: Participants were 222 users of suicide bereavement Internet forums. Most participants (93.2%) had sought face-to-face help from sources other than Internet forums, but were more likely to seek help in the near future from informal rather than formal sources. Forums were perceived as highly beneficial and there were few limitations., Limitations: The generalizability of these results to other internet forums may be limited. Additionally, we were not able to examine differences between forums in terms of quality or user-reported efficacy. Finally, the data reflects the subjective views of forum users, which may differ from the views of moderators or experts., Conclusion: Internet forums, including Facebook groups, appear to be a useful adjunct to face-to-face help-seeking for supporting those who have been bereaved by suicide.

Many women with postnatal mental illness do not get the treatment they need and this is often because stigma prevents disclosure. The purpose of this study was to explore online social support for postnatal mental illness, how women experience stigma and potential disadvantages of using Internet forums. Interviews were conducted with fifteen participants who had suffered postnatal mental illness and had used forums. Systematic thematic analysis identified common themes in relation to social support, stigma and disadvantages of using forums. Most women felt they benefited from visiting forums by developing a shared understanding and discourse about their illness. Findings suggest future research should investigate if women benefit from using online social support provided by forums, if use challenges stigma and further explore potential concerns about using forums.

Background: On the Internet, people share personal experiences as well as facts and objective information. This also holds true for the exchange of health-related information in a variety of Internet forums. In online discussions about health topics, both fact-oriented and strongly personal contributions occur on a regular basis., Objective: In this field experiment, we examined in what way the particular type of contribution (ie, factual information vs personal experiences) has an impact on the subsequent communication in health-related Internet forums., Methods: For this purpose, we posted parallelized queries to 28 comparable Internet forums; queries were identical with regard to the information contained but included either fact-oriented descriptions or personal experiences related to measles vaccination. In the factual information condition, we posted queries to the forums that contained the neutral summary of a scientific article. In the personal experiences condition, we posted queries to the forums that contained the same information as in the first condition, but were framed as personal experiences, Results: We found no evidence that personal experiences evoked more responses (mean 3.79, SD 3.91) from other members of the Internet forums than fact-oriented contributions (mean 2.14, SD 2.93, t26=0.126, P=.219). But personal experiences elicited emotional replies (mean 3.17, SD 1.29) from other users to a greater extent than fact-oriented contributions (mean 2.13, SD 1.29, t81=3.659, P<.001)., Conclusions: We suggest that personal experiences elicited more emotional replies due to the process of emotional anchoring of people's own style of communication. We recommend future studies should aim at testing the hypotheses with more general and with less emotionally charged topics, constructing different fact-oriented posts, and examining additional potential factors of influence such as personality factors or particular communication situations.

Objective: threatened miscarriage is a common complication of early pregnancy, which increases the risk of miscarriage or pregnancy complications such as premature birth. Currently there is limited evidence to recommend beneficial medical treatments or lifestyle changes, resulting in a 'watchful waiting' approach. The aim of this study was to describe women's experiences of threatened miscarriage through examining postings to Internet discussion forums., Design: a Goggle alert for threatened miscarriage was created with emails containing hyperlinks sent to the first author and collected over a seven month period (April to November 2011). Data was analysed using thematic analysis., Findings: one hundred and twenty one discussion threads were collected. The overarching theme that emerged was one of 'a search for hope and understanding'. Within this there were four sub themes that illustrated this search. 'A reason for hope: stories and real life experiences' illustrated how women sought hope for a viable pregnancy through others. 'Becoming the expert,' captures how women gave advice from their own experiences. 'A safe place to share' and 'connecting to empathic support' illustrates how women used this medium for long distance support., Key Conclusion: internet discussion forums were used by women to seek hope and support they were not receiving from their health professionals. Women urged each other to remain hopeful despite a negative medical prognosis. There was an acceptance of a lay expertise within the forums that was valid enough to challenge medical expertise., Implications for Practice: health practitioners may need education that helps them balance their delivery of medical information with hope in order to increase feelings of trust. With women seeing the Internet as a useful form of support, it may be relevant for practitioners to consider recommending relevant Internet sites and discuss this with women., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The incel population comprises men experiencing involuntary celibacy who mingle based on their challenges in establishing romantic connections. Despite the current issues plaguing incel forums (e.g., violent content), they were originally conceived as platforms for social support to alleviate loneliness among sexually inexperienced individuals. However, documentation of support types within these forums is limited. The aim of this study was to document the exchange of social support within incel forums, utilizing Braithwaite et al.'s (1999) adaptation of Cutrona and Suhr's (1992) social support typology (informational, emotional, esteem, network, tangible support) to analyze the forms of support exchanged within incels forums. Thematic analyses of 37 threads from r/IncelExit (i.e., users seeking to leave inceldom) and Incels.is (i.e., users deeply entrenched in inceldom) reveal a prevalence of informational support, followed by emotional support. These findings align with existing literature positing that informational support is the prevailing type in online interactions on forums between strangers, where anonymity also facilitates the intimate exchanges characteristic of emotional support. Notable distinctions emerge between the two forums: r/IncelExit favoured informational support (prioritized when the problem is perceived as controllable) to suggest concrete actions to resolve the problem, while Incels.is emphasized emotional support (prioritized when the problem is perceived as uncontrollable) to show empathy and understanding of the situation. Our findings also reveal that antisocial support (i.e., encouraging self-destructive behaviours instead of providing genuine support) was sometimes present, especially on Incels.is. This study provides an initial exploration of support dynamics in incels forums, with implications for interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professionalism has been discussed and defined in a variety of ways, including attire and other forms of self-expression. To determine athletic trainer (AT), physical therapist (PT), and athletic training or PT students' perceptions of appearance-based professionalism in the workplace and, secondly, to ascertain how perceptions differed across professions. Cross-sectional study. Web-based survey. Athletic trainers, PTs, and athletic training and PT students who were predominantly White, non-Hispanic, female, aged 30 ± 9 years, and recruited via listservs and social media. The independent variables were participant demographics. The dependent variables were self-reported perceptions of professionalism for each photo. The survey consisted of 3 sections: demographics, 8 photos of ATs or PTs with depictions of patient-provider interactions, and open-ended responses. For each photo, participants selected yes, no, or unsure regarding the photo. An open-ended response was prompted with a no or unsure selection. The participant further described the reason for that choice. Most participants determined the health care provider depicted in 7 photos appeared professional. Only 1 photo was deemed unprofessional by the professional majority. Significant differences existed between students and professionals for 5 photos. The proportion of participants who reported the photos were unprofessional differed among professions for 2 photos. From our qualitative analysis, we found 6 domains: (1) unprofessional attire and hair, (2) situation-dependent attire, (3) role confusion and health care employer or employee identification, (4) nonappearance related, (5) tattoo-related bias, and (6) rethinking after question is displayed. What is considered appropriate and professional is not concrete. Differing concepts of professionalism generated biased judgments and criticisms. Our findings should lead providers to reexamine the definition of professionalism. The past should not dictate the future, and today's social mores can help shape the definition as it should be considered in today's settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has analyzed the information sharing related to the mental health of Finnish socially withdrawn (hikikomori) persons. The sample contains 60 discussion strings and 1741 messages, which were analyzes by qualitative and quantitative content analysis. As a result, the peer information is highly appreciated and in many cases it is preferred instead of information given by authors or specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of New Economics & Social Sciences (IJONESS) is the property of International Institute of Innovation Science-Education-Development in Warsaw and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The number of cannabis users is increasing worldwide and includes women, who may or may not make decisions about use before and during pregnancy depending on information received about safety. We investigated online information sharing about cannabis use during pregnancy. A consensual qualitative research approach was used to evaluate online discussions about cannabis use. Six thematic domains emerged: General Support, Advice/Directives, Personal Opinion/Experiences, Warnings, Judgment, and Comparisons of Use. Results showed that online posts regarding the safety of cannabis are often incorrect, unhelpful, and/or inconsistent. Understanding women's concerns and information sharing is an important part of providing healthcare and ensuring the best possible outcomes for mother and baby. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerned researchers of user-generated content might want to avoid using, citing, or quoting sensitive content likely to be deleted by their authors, even when pseudonymous or using one-time “throwaway” accounts. At Reddit, how many authors actually delete their submissions, why, and are they concerned if their deletion end up elsewhere? I analyze the three most popular sensitive-topic subreddits (r/Advice, r/AmItheAsshole, and r/relationship_advice) and show that deleting submissions is common. Roughly half of submissions are deleted by their users, most within the first day and week. Interviews with 30 Redditors reveal that their motives for deletion include ensuring the “Internet doesn’t see them,” especially those who might “see it on my Reddit profile,” deciding their issue was resolved, receiving unhelpful or aggressive comments, and concluding their submission was no longer relevant. Most interviewees were not overly concerned about deleted submissions persisting elsewhere (e.g., social media, archives, and datasets) as long as it is not easily connected to their other activity or identity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural speech communities, where locals know each other, dialectal and unofficial names in which the surname precedes the first name (der Müller Peter, (s) Müllers Peter) are used to refer to absent referents. The occurrence of these forms is highly pragmatic and determined by the degree of familiarity of referent, speaker and hearer. Also, they are only used within the respective speech communities. It is all the more surprising to find these reference forms in internet forums, social media and online newspapers, where they refer to prominent figures. This study explores diatopic as well as diaphasic variation of the structure surname + first name in the German webcorpus DECOW16b, and shows that while, especially referring to Bavarian celebrities, it is used to express familiarity with the referents and to present them in private rather than professional contexts, it can also mark depreciation and a denial of professionality. The latter applies to politicians in particular, while sportspersons are generally depicted positively. The use of dialectal register on the internet can be interpreted as a form of enregisterment, transferring the most prominent pragmatic conditions for surname + first name in dialectal registers to new contexts. Since the respective forms are used by speakers of other registers, we also find sociolinguistic crossing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online consumer behavior has become a valuable and viable source of consumer insights. Consumer comments in online forums, or discussion groups, have proven useful as a source to extract brand similarity data from. Apart from the cost and speed advantages, such data can be captured easily over different time periods. Both online consumer-generated data (CGD) and surveys have their pros and cons. To date, little is known as to how these two data sources compare in terms of brand insights. In this study, we discuss the results from analyzing survey and consumer-generated online data pertaining to the U.S. skincare market. Our study included 57 brands, and we used multidimensional scaling (MDS), t-stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE; an alternative to MDS), hierarchical clustering, and additive similarity trees (an extension of hierarchical clustering) to analyze the data. We show that the outcomes vary between CGD and surveys. As an additional insight, we show that, rather than the spatial scaling methods, additive trees result in a much better fit of brand similarity data in cases where we have many brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 1990s, US leaders promoted the internet as post-nation "global information infrastructure." However, throughout the 2000s, critical internet infrastructure became centralized under the tight control of a handful of US-based multinational companies. This paper examines the US government's willingness to leverage its regulatory control over privately run critical infrastructure to exercise massive internet surveillance (pulling information from sovereign states), massive influence campaigns (pushing information into sovereign states), and, increasingly, to levy unilateral cyber-sanctions on other sovereign states (cutting information flows through blockages and digital lock-outs). The US government is now asserting its territorial sovereignty over what it had presented as global infrastructure in order to advance its narrow national goals. I argue that the weaponization of corporate internet infrastructure by the US government marks a new era of internet governance and is one of the key drivers of what is often discussed as internet fragmentation in internet governance forums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Diet forums in social media websites provide an opportunity to glimpse the experience of different weight loss diet strategies reported by tens of thousands of individuals. Methods: We analyzed all postings with weight information from the six major Reddit weight loss diet forums ("subreddits") as reported by forum participants. Results: Data were collected from January 2011 to April 2020 from all 55,900 users posting weight information. Average start BMI was in the overweight or obese range (26–34 kg/m2), and average goal BMI was in the normal range (21.5–24.5 kg/m2) for all subreddits. There is correlation between start BMI and goal BMI (R2 = 0.63, p < 10−10) and between planned weight loss and reported weight loss (R2 = 0.56, p < 10−10). Approximately 80% of forum participants reported a weight loss that was greater than 5% of their initial body weight. Actual reported weight loss was less than half of goal weight loss. Average reported weight loss and adherence were highest in the keto and loseit subreddits. More upvotes and fewer downvotes were associated with higher reported weight loss in five of the six subreddits. Conclusions: Despite the need for cautious interpretation of these data due to self-selection of users who updated weight loss and the possibility of unreliable weight reports, the study has several findings. Average goal BMI was in the normal weight range, demonstrating a highly unrealistic perception, in a very large lay-public cohort, of the plausibility of losing all excess weight. The success in weight loss and maintenance in self-selected individuals who continued reporting weight for many months may demonstrate the subjective value some individuals can obtain from forum participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact of a series of mass shootings committed in 2018–2019 by right-wing extremists on 8chan/pol, a prominent far-right online forum. Using computational methods, it offers a detailed examination of how attacks trigger shifts in both forum activity and content. We find that while each shooting is discussed by forum participants, their respective impact varies considerably. We highlight, in particular, a 'Tarrant effect': the considerable effect Brenton Tarrant's attack of two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, had on the forum. Considering the rise in far-right terrorism and the growing and diversifying online far-right ecosystem, such interactive offline-online effects warrant the attention of scholars and security professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the ongoing need for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to identify and assess the online activities of violent extremists prior to their engagement in violence offline, little is empirically known about their online behaviors generally or differences in their posting behaviors compared to non-violent extremists who share similar ideological beliefs particularly. In this study, we drew from a unique sample of violent and non-violent right-wing extremists to compare their posting behaviors within a sub-forum of the largest white supremacy web-forum. Analyses for the current study proceeded in three phases. First, we plotted the average posting trajectory for users in the sample, followed by an assessment of the rates at which they stayed active or went dormant in the sub-forum. We then used logistic regression to examine whether specific posting behaviors were characteristic of users' violence status. The results highlight a number of noteworthy differences in the posting behaviors of violent and non-violent right-wing extremists, many of which may inform future risk factor frameworks used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify credible threats online. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this analysis, its limitations and avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate of antidepressant prescriptions is globally increasing. A large portion of patients stop their medications, which could lead to many side effects including relapse, and anxiety. The aim of this was to develop a drug-continuity prediction model and identify the factors associated with drug-continuity using online patient forums. We retrieved 982 antidepressant drug reviews from the online patient's forum AskaPatient.com. We followed the Analytical Framework Method to extract structured data from unstructured data. Using the structured data, we examined the factors associated with antidepressant discontinuity and developed a predictive model using multiple machine learning techniques. We tested multiple machine learning techniques which resulted in different performances ranging from accuracy of 65% to 82%. We found that Random Forest algorithm provides the highest prediction method with 82% Accuracy, 78% Precision, 88.03% Recall, and 84.2% F1-Score. The factors associated with drug discontinuity the most were: withdrawal symptoms, effectiveness-ineffectiveness, perceived-distress-adverse drug reaction, rating, and perceiveddistress related to withdrawal symptoms. Although the nature of data available at online forums differ from data collected through surveys, we found that online patients forum can be a valuable source of data for drug continuity prediction and understanding patients experience. The factors identified through our techniques were consistent with the findings of prior studies that used surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how parliaments in Europe are adopting digital media to promote public engagement with citizens. Drawing on a meta-analysis of previous similar studies and a content analysis of parliamentary websites, the article concludes that parliaments are selective in their public engagement activities, are still mainly using ICT to report parliamentary business, and are timidly embracing the opportunities brought on by ICT to actively engage citizens. Two innovative mechanisms found in the analysis are discussed in detail: cases of online discussion forums and digital debates on social media and cases of crowdsourcing platforms that integrate citizens' views into the law-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Companion and other animals have been known to promote wellbeing of people living with chronic disease by assisting in emotional regulation, social interaction and enhancing self‐identity. However, little is known about the impact of animals on people with kidney disease, who often live with treatment burden, as well as compromised immune systems making them vulnerable to zoonotic diseases. Objectives: To explore the impact companion and non‐companion animals have on the lives of people living with kidney disease. Design: Qualitative Content Analysis of 518 posts from an online forum. Participants: One hundred seventy‐two people (109 female, 41 male and 22 unknown) posting to an online forum for people undergoing kidney dialysis. Results: Benefits of bonds with animals included reciprocal love and affection, emotional support, stress reduction, aiding relaxation, assisting social interaction, animals' intuitive comfort when unwell, feelings of loyalty, and motivation to live, concerns relating to zoonotic disease risk, and patients' impressions of health professionals' opinions on animals. Conclusions: This study reinforces the existence of strong bonds between humans and animals, as well as demonstrating the importance of and concerns regarding interacting with non‐companion animals for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). There is a mismatch between patients' perception of infection risk and the advice and opinions of some healthcare professionals. Recognition and support for the role of animals as social supports are warranted in history taking, patient education of risk, and the biopsychosocial benefits of animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the story The New Owner in an attempt to explore how the notion of authorship is negotiated in an online forum-based writing project. It also considers how the characteristics of the internet and the forum influenced the creative processes and the negotiations of authorship. In particular, the paper identifies three dynamics of authorship: shared authorial voice, control over the story, and the impossibility of a 'beyond-the-screen' truth. I compare these with dynamics related to George R. R. Martin and Elena Ferrante. These dynamics intersect with online literature, subcultural practices of anonymity, and the mediation of the internet. To discuss these, this paper considers a bugchasing erotic story published in an online forum. The paper concludes by exploring how impossibility is a key component of these online spaces and frame their interactions and cultural productions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As traditional education has evolved with the Internet and technology, e-learning has shown rapid and significant growth. Many studies have emphasized the positive effects of technology and online resources in foreign and second language education. Because of its role in reducing foreign language anxiety, the use of digital technology has an important role in learners' emotional healing Therefore, the use of a digital platform, Canvas, and the exploration of its effects on learners' public speaking anxiety and performance in L2 are the main research foci in this study. With this point of departure, in order to measure the effect of intervention related to the use of online speaking tasks and podcasts through Canvas, a one-group pretest-posttest was employed. Data regarding participants' public speaking anxiety before and after the treatment were collected through the PRPSA (Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety) scale. Additionally, speaking rubrics were used as assessment tools for scoring learners' pre and post oral performances. For more detailed information related to the participants' learning experiences and changes in their emotional states, participants were encouraged to join online forums on Canvas. The results showed that the use of digital platforms and podcasts had a significant role in boosting learners' confidence and public speaking performances through alleviating their anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the relationships between different uses of Internet modes and political participation, focusing on political information behaviors, including political information seeking and forwarding. Design/methodology/approach: This study used secondary data from the 2016 Korea Media Panel Survey conducted with 8,439 Korean adults. Findings: The results indicated that political participation is generally associated with the use of online news forums, online communities, online services and online information production, but not with the use of social networking sites (SNSs). Additional analyses revealed that the use of different Internet modes has an indirect effect on voting intention through political information seeking. The analysis also showed that a number of sociodemographic characteristics influence political participation. Originality/value: As one of the first studies to focus on active information behaviors in examining the influence of Internet use, this study enhances the understanding of how human behaviors are shaped by digital technology. By providing guidelines for the use of different modes of the Internet, the findings of this study also have practical implications for efforts to encourage political participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used an internet-based survey platform to conduct a cross-sectional survey regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ + population in the United States. While this method of data collection was quick and inexpensive, the data collected required extensive cleaning due to the infiltration of bots. Based on this experience, we provide recommendations for ensuring data integrity. Recruitment conducted between May 7 and 8, 2020 resulted in an initial sample of 1251 responses. The Qualtrics survey was disseminated via social media and professional association listservs. After noticing data discrepancies, research staff developed a rigorous data cleaning protocol. A second wave of recruitment was conducted on June 11–12, 2020 using the original recruitment methods. The five-step data cleaning protocol led to the removal of 773 (61.8%) surveys from the initial dataset, resulting in a sample of 478 participants in the first wave of data collection. The protocol led to the removal of 46 (31.9%) surveys from the second two-day wave of data collection, resulting in a sample of 98 participants in the second wave of data collection. After verifying the two-day pilot process was effective at screening for bots, the survey was reopened for a third wave of data collection resulting in a total of 709 responses, which were identified as an additional 514 (72.5%) valid participants and led to the removal of an additional 194 (27.4%) possible bots. The final analytic sample consists of 1090 participants. Although a useful and efficient research tool, especially among hard-to-reach populations, internet-based research is vulnerable to bots and mischievous responders, despite survey platforms' built-in protections. Beyond the depletion of research funds, bot infiltration threatens data integrity and may disproportionately harm research with marginalized populations. Based on our experience, we recommend the use of strategies such as qualitative questions, duplicate demographic questions, and incentive raffles to reduce likelihood of mischievous respondents. These protections can be undertaken to ensure data integrity and facilitate research on vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Fonseca: Journal of Communication is the property of Revista Fonseca Journal of Communication and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article reports on data collected from the online community forums of four Uyghur language websites between 2014–2016. These posts are representative of a moment in time in which the Uyghur cultural identity was being threatened by increasingly restrictive Chinese government policies. Concept coding was applied to online discussion posts and comments, through which we identified common ideas and 'concepts' from the emergent themes. Findings demonstrate how these Uyghur language websites served as a platform for an online community to negotiate their cultural identity and strengthen community ties. Uyghur individuals posted materials that built cultural knowledge, reinforced cultural pride, and encouraged community cultural support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite scholarly concern regarding the online discussion in China's cyberspace, research tracing the trends in discourse expression on social media remains scant. Revolving around the concept of discursive power, this study explicates how the voices of different social classes have been represented and expressed in social media during the past decade. Employing longitudinal content analysis on class-based voice in 2009 (n = 1374) and 2018 (n = 25,330), the results demonstrate that online discussion in China's social media has displayed a trend for "discourse involution," where the increasing appropriation of the Internet among different social classes results in a continued divide of the discursive power in cyberspace. We argue that this discourse involution is achieved through the asymmetry of discursive expression, centralization of voice representation, and polarization in the emotional expression online. The study contributes to the current debate on the social effects of online discussions using a discursive and class-based approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, there has been an increased focus among researchers on the role of the Internet among actors and groups across the political and ideological spectrum. There has been particular emphasis on the ways that far-right extremists utilize forums and social media to express ideological beliefs through sites affiliated with real-world extremist groups and unaffiliated websites. The majority of research has used qualitative assessments or quantitative analyses of keywords to assess the extent of specific messages. Few have considered the breadth of extremist ideologies expressed among participants so as to quantify the proportion of beliefs espoused by participants. This study addressed this gap in the literature through a content analysis of over 18,000 posts from eight far-right extremist forums operating online. The findings demonstrated that the most prevalent ideological sentiments expressed in users' posts involved anti-minority comments, though they represent a small proportion of all posts made in the sample. Additionally, users expressed associations to far-right extremist ideologies through their usernames, signatures, and images associated with their accounts. The implications of this analysis for policy and practice to disrupt extremist movements were discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Some intrauterine devices (IUD) users self-remove their IUDs, and these experiences are not well understood. This study examines what IUD users post in internet forums about their experience, as well as advice and questions shared among IUD users about self-removal.Study Design: This study uses qualitative analysis of internet health and parenting forum postings about IUD self-removal identified from an internet search engine. We analyzed the data using inductive and deductive content analyses.Results: Twenty-eight sites, containing 1742 posts by 1197 unique users, satisfied our eligibility criteria. Users reported successful IUD self-removal attempts as "quick," "easy," and "painless"; it was rare to encounter IUD users describing complications of their self-removal attempts. Users described unsuccessful attempts as failure to find or grasp strings. Many IUD users described their successful removal techniques and gave advice to other users who were struggling with self-removal. Users frequently utilized the forum to ask questions about IUD self-removal methods and timing, pain, when to seek medical intervention, and the effects on future fertility.Conclusions: Posts describing successful IUD self-removal report positive experiences. IUD users who have difficulty with self-removal may utilize internet forums to learn from others' experiences.Implications: Exploring IUD users' experiences with and questions about self-removal may inform strategies to develop better resources for those who desire self-removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is engaged with the question of how viewers of Czech reality television programmes negotiate the social status of low-income participants in online discussions. The analysis is triggered by an enquiry into practices of stigmatisation and the processes of drawing, maintaining, and shifting boundaries between the normalised, well-ordered “self” and the poverty-stricken, socially unacceptable “other”. The public judgement of people lacking economic and cultural capital is analysed using Internet and social network debates related to the Czech adaptations of the reality TV programmes Výměna manželek (Wife Swap, TV Nova, 2005-present) and Prostřeno (Come Dine with Me, TV Prima, 2010-present). This method provides insight into the creation of consensual meaning, and allows the analysis of the positions, claims and arguments adopted by online discussants. The research outcome showed some important differences between the evaluations offered by the producers of programmes and those accepted by viewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In its processes of creating and disseminating news, the media aims to satisfy the public's needs for information and knowledge as well as entertainment. Beyond the traditional publication of news via traditional media such as print, radio or television, the new trend is accessing news online. Blogs, forums, social networks and search engines are all environments in which information is becoming increasingly visible, increasingly accessed and increasingly read. Warts and all: these means are defined by a series of characteristics, but they also conceal certain dangers: ideological polarization, filter bubbles, selective exposure etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who identify as pedophilic or hebephilic, and who do not offend, are increasingly visible in online discourse and as a focus of research. Developing knowledge about this population will offer insights into their psychological needs and, potentially, into the mechanisms and strategies individuals use to live offense-free lives. This study examined coping strategies among members of an online forum supporting pedohebephilic individuals who do not wish to offend. Forum users' posts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Eleven themes emerged, which were classifiable into three superordinate themes around (a) the acceptance of pedophilia, (b) strategies to stay safe, and (c) dealing with sexual arousal. These themes offer insight into the varying strategies used by these individuals to cope with stress and/or to remain offense-free. Understanding whether these strategies are adaptive or maladaptive may help develop better support services for those who have not offended and may inform prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious diseases, in particular sexually transmitted diseases, and acne, hidradenitis suppurativa and psoriasis, among inflammatory disorders, were strongly associated with this habit. Adnexal diseases were the most correlated to this type of research, especially those of the hair, while acne, hidradenitis suppurativa and parasitosis/entomodermatosis were the most correlated to a do-it-yourself therapy among infectious and inflammatory diseases. In conclusion, our study highlights the widespread use of the Internet for medical purposes in the dermatological patient, especially in young and highly educated people affected by skin diseases burdened by high social impact. [Extracted from the article]

The need for qualitative research of deservingness perception is strongly emphasised in the literature. This article studies the perception of deservingness for a "Family 500 +"—cash benefit in Poland. For the first time, data from online forums was used in the studies of deservingness and welfare attitudes. It allowed to avoid numerous limitations associated with social surveys. The qualitative analysis showed how participants of Internet debates perceive the criteria of deservingness: control, attitude, reciprocity, identity, need, and what are the relations between the criteria. The impurity of all deservingness criteria was indicated and a new criterion "adequacy" was proposed. Moreover due to the fact that the study concerned a concrete, non-abstract family cash benefit addressed the relationship between the perceived deservingness of children and their parents was pointed out. The vast majority of posts on Internet forums referred to deservingness of parents, not children. This is particularly evident in relation to the criteria of control and reciprocity. Presenting the hypothesis of jealousy and scapegoat strategy, the article also shows the direction of future research on deservingness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the users' characteristics, discussion contents, and the atmosphere of virtual peer communities.Methods: A qualitative, prospective study was conducted using the Netnography method. The most popular, publicly accessible French discussion forums were investigated. The web users' quotes were collected from May to October 2018. Data analysis triangulation was performed by two researchers using the NVivo 12® software.Results: The users discussed their experience with Parkinson's disease (PD) in a warm atmosphere. 23 discussion threads were analysed: 302 messages posted by 70 users (70% were females; the average illness duration was 6 years); 115 encoded nodes were created. Five user profiles appeared: leader, follower, expert, mixed, and undetermined. Common preoccupations were a lack of time and listening from the physicians' side. Three themes emerged: managing symptoms, living with PD, and sharing illness experiences. Users sought actively for a cure to limit or stop disease evolution, using alternative and complementary therapies to optimize their daily condition.Conclusions: Online forums foster person's informal learnings about coping with PD. Healthcare professionals can use these learnings to optimize person-centred support.Practice Implications: During consultations, healthcare professionals should invite persons to discuss their online activity, informal learnings, beliefs and expectations towards therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The internet has become the predominant source of dissemination for dubious legends, ranging from medical misinformation to conspiracy theories and supernatural encounters. Building on previous work in this area, I examine contemporary legends as they are told and discussed in online forums. Drawing on Nancy Baym's outline of the characteristics of the internet that distinguish it from other forms of communication, I analyze how the internet's interactivity, temporal structure, social cues, storage, replicability, reach, and mobility affect the form and function of the legend process. I find that the internet subverts some of the traditional characteristics of the legend-telling process, but paradoxically, other characteristics of the internet actually reinforce or valorize traditional elements, while surprisingly, sometimes the internet has no effect at all even in areas where we might expect the most dramatic effects. These findings provide significant insights into the role the internet plays in today's world where bizarre claims increasingly characterize everyday social and political life. They shed light on how the internet provides a window into our concerns while simultaneously exacerbating them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen an increasing number of non-professional readers contribute to the online conversation about African literary texts. While this is evidence of a healthy democratisation of the field, it also raises questions about the impact that this online criticism has upon the academic field of African literary studies. How exactly are scholars of African literature to engage with this opportunity to open up the field to new voices while also retaining the specificity of academic reading and scholarly practice? With these issues in mind, this essay considers the work of Ikhide R. Ikheloa, one of the most visible online critics of African literature. Through an analysis of Ikheloa's critical practice and his self-presentation as a "reader" (rather than a critic) of literature, the essay argues for a mode of engagement with online criticism that, while sensitive to its particular status as distinct from formal academic scholarship, also understands it as an opportunity to develop and expand the field of study. The essay concludes by considering how questions of social class and language also bear upon scholars' engagement with online criticism of African literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes discourses of everyday racism and colorblind racism on an internet forum. While skin color is invisible online, identities as black, white and shades in between show through participants' perspectives and communicative behavior in discussions about racism. Critical race theory and whiteness studies argue that there is a perception gap between black and white perspectives on racism, linked to positionality in social structures, which influences experiences and shapes perceptions of the world. This paper shows how black participants in online discussions tend to be more conscious of racial issues and skilled at recognizing racism, while whites often reflect a colorblind discourse that denies structural racism and reproduces everyday racism. Starting with critical perspectives of conscious blacks on the forum and drawing on Cultural Discourse Studies and critical race theory, this paper examines power relations and cultural perspectives underlying white participants' claims, perspectives and speech acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online forums such as 4chan and 8chan have grown in notoriety following a number of high-profile attacks conducted in 2019 by right-wing extremists who used their "/pol" boards (dedicated to "politically incorrect" discussions). Despite growing academic interest in these online spaces, little is still known about them; in particular, their similarities and differences remain to be teased out, and their respective roles in fostering a certain farright subculture need to be specified. This article therefore directly compares the content and discussion pace of six different /pol boards of "chan" forums, including some that exist solely on the dark web. We find that while these boards constitute together a particular subculture, differences in terms of both rate of traffic and content demonstrate the fragmentation of this subculture. Specifically, we show that the different /pol boards can be grouped into a three-tiered architecture based upon both at once how popular they are and how extreme their content is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opposing View: Social Media Speech Is Subject To Traditional Defamation Analysis Many other courts - particularly those in California - treat social media speech no differently than traditional media statements, applying the same defamation analysis to both. It separates those courts that treat social media speech as opinion per se versus those who stringently apply a traditional defamation test, and it identifies some common traits of social media speech that help understand the court's reasoning. DREIBELBIS 03 16 21 FINAL (DO NOT DELETE) 3/17/2021 7:14 PM NOTE SOCIAL MEDIA DEFAMATION: A NEW LEGAL FRONTIER AMID THE INTERNET WILD WEST HADLEY M. DREIBELBIS* INTRODUCTION Social media platforms have become the primary news source for many Americans. A. One View: Social Media Speech Is Per Se Hyperbole Ever since social media exploded in the early 2000s with the development of Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and Twitter, 93 courts have grappled with the repercussions of this loose, freewheeling style of communication on laws regulating false statements of fact. COURT'S EVALUATION OF CONTEXT IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA AGE Courts from California to New York have considered the role of defamation analysis in speech published on social media. [Extracted from the article]

What is the effect of a life‐threatening pandemic at the societal level? An expanded Theory of Social Change, Cultural Evolution, and Human Development predicts that, during a period of increasing survival threat and decreasing prosperity, humans will shift toward the psychology and behavior typical of the small‐scale, collectivistic, and rural subsistence ecologies in which we evolved. In particular, subjective mortality salience, engagement in subsistence activities, and collectivism will all increase, while the aspiration to be wealthy will decrease. Because coronavirus has forced unprecedented proportions of human activity online, we tested hypotheses derived from the theory by analyzing big data samples for 70 days before and 70 days after the coronavirus pandemic stimulated President Trump to declare a national emergency. Google searches were used for an exploratory study; the exploratory study was followed by three independent replications on Twitter, internet forums, and blogs. Across all four internet platforms, terms related to subjective mortality salience, engagement in subsistence activities, and collectivism showed massive increases. These findings, coupled with prior research testing this theory, indicate that humans may have an evolutionarily conditioned response to the level of death and availability of material resources in society. More specifically, humans may shift their behavior and psychology toward that found in subsistence ecologies under conditions of high mortality and low prosperity or, conversely, toward behavior and psychology found in modern commercial ecologies under conditions of low mortality and high prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional television coexists with formats that originated on the internet, as well as on-demand consumption, paid television, and other audio-visual content distribution platforms. Audience data reveal a steady decline in television viewership, and digital technologies now allow any citizen to produce audio-visual content and distribute it for mass consumption through the internet. Given this new audio-visual ecosystem, the aim of this research is to ascertain whether there are any signs of a crisis regarding the dominance of television as a means of disseminating the products of the culture industry. Disinterest or indifference toward conventional programming by users would reveal a danger to the broadcast industry. In contrast, the consumption of television products through other channels would imply the retention of television audiences through the internet. This study analyzes perceptions regarding television through five online discussion groups. Three conclusions can be drawn: Firstly, television holds a prominent place in the daily lives of those who use it, including the youngest participants, despite the fact that audiences have declined in recent years. The second conclusion states that the perception of television is positive and associated with disengagement, relaxation, and family gatherings, which can be combined with individual consumption at other times of the day. As a third conclusion, this study reveals the high degree of compatibility between the internet and television screens, as new forms of consumption are emerging, yet there is still a predominant interest in content on television and from the mass culture industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because of the shortcomings of traditional pharmacotherapy for major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there has been growing interest in the rapid mood-enhancing effect of ketamine. Objectives: To analyze what has been posted about ketamine use for dealing with self-reported depression and/or PTSD on one of the biggest international message boards on the internet. Methods: Qualitative study with online observation of threaded discussions on Bluelight. In-depth online searches were conducted in 2018. Twenty-nine threads, with a total of 708 units of analysis, were selected and subjected to content analysis, where, via a coding process, the units of analysis were organized into nodes. Results: Despite having several negative effects (e.g. dizziness, nausea and inability to talk), the examined discourses suggested that the use of ketamine to elevate mood was both efficient and worthwhile. Intranasal use was the most common route of administration mentioned. We traced how the mood enhancement caused by ketamine is perceived: the loss of pleasure disappears, as well as the depressed mood; the markedly diminished interest in activities vanishes and motivation comes back. From all the posts analyzed, only two reported negative outcomes (i.e. no mood-enhancing effect). The most mentioned adverse event was damage to the urinary bladder and the kidneys in cases of misuse. Conclusion: Although online research of user-generated content has its limitations in terms of reliability and validity, the present study adds relevant information on the use of ketamine for managing depression and PTSD, whether this use is done legally or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the online comments section of Nicaraguan newspaper reports on gender violence, focusing specifically on articles about Law 779: The Integral Law Against Violence Towards Women (2012). The study traces contemporary public opinion regarding gender relations, crime, and the law. The comments sections reveal that many commentators do not view gender violence as a State problem, but rather they assert that it should be handled in the family unit. This belief is bolstered by State policies that advocate for restoring family peace and harmony through dialogue. The article highlights another main complaint against Law 779 in the comments: that it inaugurates a war against men. I conclude that this perspective constitutes a refusal to cede power and privilege. These representational battles reveal ceaseless anxiety over Law 779's ruinous effects on the family. In the end, allegations about the divisiveness of the law point to a desire for the return of traditional family narratives. Law 779 embodies several decades of women's demands for respect, autonomy, and freedom from violence. After a rapid pendulum swing in society about Law 779, public opinion reflects extreme uncertainty and instability regarding changing expectations, both legal and social, for gendered behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]