ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters have established that people do open up more online. What psychologists have also questioned though is whether selfdisclosing online is a healthy experience, especially for those who are not psychologically functioning optimally of¯ine. In particular, psychologists have questioned whether the Internet is a therapeutic space for lonely individuals, or whether instead it makes people more lonely. Part of this debate has focused on the types of relationships or `weak ties' that individuals form online, the suggestion being that `strong ties' of¯ine are of greater value. As we shall see in this chapter, some researchers have argued that when addressing these questions psychologists need to examine the full gamut of individuals' psychological make-up (e.g. personality traits), the types of places visited online and who individuals are communicating with. Given the growing number of online support groups, it is imperative that psychologists seriously question how helpful or unhelpful people's online ties really are. Moreover, as is demonstrated in this chapter, when considering online support groups, how the group is set up partly determines its success. This chapter will also examine a variety of types of online support groups and consider the strengths and weakness of these groups.
In the early days of Internet psychology research, the general view was that too much use of the Internet led to negative outcomes. It was argued that the Internet could make people isolated, lonely and depressed. Early research supported this notion. For example, Kraut and his colleagues' (1998) well-known HomeNet study found that greater use of the Internet led to negative effects. These researchers conducted a longitudinal study in which they gave a computer, a free telephone line and free access to the Internet to 93 households (comprising a total of 169 individuals) who had never before accessed the Internet. During the course of the study, they tracked changes in psychological states over time. They found a signi®cant relationship between heavy Internet usage and loneliness. Kraut et al. argued that since initial loneliness failed to predict subsequent loneliness,
the most likely explanation was that increased use of the Internet was what caused the increase in loneliness. In other words, Internet usage was taking up time that could be better used for more psychologically bene®cial interactions of¯ine. Kraut et al. made the claim that online weak ties were being established which were of poorer quality compared to the types of relationships and strong ties already established of¯ine.
