Ensuring that there are good quality resources online is
extremely important, and equally important that these are
accessible and user-friendly. Often, young people will ask
un-moderated social networks or forums, by posting a question as
their Facebook status, posting a question on Yahoo
Answers etc.
These platforms may be chosen as the location for the preferred
help-seeking action because of some pretty appealing potential
benefits. Posting on forums (such as the ReachOut.com forums) can be
anonymous, which lowers the risk of compromising the young person's
public image. Alternatively, if it is not anonymous (i.e. a
Facebook post) generally neither are the replies, so they can give
extra weight to the point of view of the people they trust or who
know them best. The answers received are potentially almost
instantaneous, unlike making an appointment with a professional or
doing their own research into the subject. In addition, even in
anonymous forums, the answers would be coming from perceived peers,
who may be more trusted than professionals or textbooks, or
considered to have answers that are more relevant or appropriate to
that person.
However, just as there are when seeking help from peers offline,
there are also significant risks online. Firstly, the answers may
be inaccurate, unhealthy or insensitive. The anonymity and lack of
a personal relationship between the poster and the respondent can
result in unexpected bullying, mocking, or "trolling" - deliberate
bad behaviour from the people who reply. The unhelpfulness of the
answers may deter the young person from seeking further help. The
risk of providing sensitive information online is also that it may
become abused, or become public knowledge when the user didn't want
it to be. While some young people do get very good peer support
online some of the time, it very much depends on where the young
person is looking for that support as to how helpful it is.
Even if more supportive or accurate resources and communities
exist online for young people to improve their health and
wellbeing, they must be easily found and used by young people or
they will be under-utilised.
Health professionals need to play a role in ensuring that when
young people go online looking for information, they find credible
resources, and that these resources are accessible and
user-friendly.