An alternative study focused on online communities, finding out that internet discussion forums are positively related to well-being and are linked with increased community engagement offline, developing a different perspective from the one that usually consider those online tools as outdated and prone to trolling.

A research published in the Computers in Human Behavior discovered that online forums have a positive impact on individuals and society, recognizing to them an importance previously underestimated. Even though social networking took over the virtual landscape during the last years, forums are still used by an important percentage of 10% of the United Kingdom’s online users. The authors of the study believe this percentage may be associated to the fact that, nowadays, online forums represent one of the few online places that allows true anonymous interaction.

During the study, the online users were approached on different online discussion forums concerning different interests, lifestyles and hobbies. The ones recruited to the study were divided in two groups: those belonging to forums about topics that could be considered stigmatized (such as the ones dealing with depression, mental health issues and specific parenting choice, for instance) and those belonging to “non-stigma” related forums (such as for bodybuilders, environmentalists or musicians, for example).

The participants were asked different questions concerning their reasons and motivations for joining the forums’ discussions, the eventual fulfilment of their aspiration and expectations, their relationship and identification with other forum users, their satisfaction toward life and, finally, their offline engagement with the topics and the issues faced on the forums.

Lead author Dr Louise Pendry from Psychology at the University of Exeter said: “Our findings paint a more optimistic picture of old-style online discussion forums. Often we browse forums just hoping to find answers to our questions. In fact, as well as finding answers, our study showed users often discover that forums are a source of great support, especially those seeking information about more stigmatizing conditions. Moreover, we found that users of both forum types who engaged more with other forum users showed a greater willingness to get involved in offline activities related to the forum, such as volunteering, donating or campaigning.”

Dr Jessica Salvatore of Sweet Briar College, USA, added: “What we are seeing here is that forum users who get more involved develop strong links with other users. They come to see themselves as more identified with other forum users. And then these more identified users see the greatest benefits, in terms of positive links with mental health and getting involved offline. In a nutshell, the more users put into the forum, the more they get back, and the pay-off for both users themselves and society at large can be significant.”

Written by: Pietro Paolo Frigenti