Does the Internet offer social opportunities for individuals with schizophrenia? A cross-sectional pilot study

Online, social media and mobile technologies for psychosis treatment: A systematic review on novel user-led interventions

“…These results are consistent with recent studies showing that patients with schizophrenia participate in specialized online forums using equivalent communications skills and discussing the same topics as do relatives and caregivers (Haker et al, 2005). Similarly, patients with psychosis have been shown to utilize the Internet skillfully to form social connections that carry over to real life relationships just as frequently as healthy controls (Spinzy et al, 2012).…”

“…Emerging evidence indicates that the use of the Internet by people with psychosis resembles that of individuals not affected by mental illness (Haker et al, 2005;Schrank et al, 2010). People with psychosis use the Internet effectively to create social connections enabling the development of both virtual and face-to-face relationships (Spinzy et al, 2012). In addition to the general advantages such as accessibility and the capacity to access a wide array of resources (Fox and Rainie, 2000), people with psychosis resort to the Internet because of the anonymity and absence of a hierarchy on the Web and its potential to assist in overcoming difficulties with social interaction (Schrank et al, 2010).…”

Qualitative analysis of UK and USA open mental health Facebook groups for mental health support (Preprint)

“…Group members and administrators on one particular page were united in their rebuttal of a group member's comments suggesting that the symptoms of depression could be described as 'sulking'. Again, this is supportive of the notion of cohesion within the group [27] possibly increasing feelings of connectedness [78], and perceived social support [74,75].…”

“…By sharing personal experiences of their mental illness, Facebook users provided informational and emotional support to other group members that may not be available from the receivers own social network or professionals, in line with previous research [18,19,34]. This form of support may lead to increased feelings of connectedness for the receiver [67,78], and could potentially reduce feelings of social isolation [22][23][24]74], and may offer hope to people using Facebook for their mental illness [76], thus empowering them to seek help or take positive action. From the findings, it was noted that the UK sample tended to show a slightly higher level of self-disclosure.…”

“…In addition, those seeking online support have reported a lower level of stigmatisation [76], and increased feelings of connectedness [77]. The efficacy of online support from SNSs for mental health has shown to be particularly salient for women during pregnancy [14], and those with mental illnesses such as Schizophrenia [78], Psychosis [79] and PTSD [80]. However, contemporary research also highlights some negative effects of using SNSs such as Facebook in addition to the potential negative effects of general internet usage [39][40][41][42][43][44][45].…”