When I think about online communities, I keep thinking back to our text Networked referencing how many people living with disabilities, especially health conditions connect with others this way (Rainie & Wellman, 2014). I came across this post on a blog for Cystic Fibrosis, titled "How Connecting Online with People with CF Changed my Life." The author writes about how when she was first diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, or CF, her network of people she knew who also had the disease was very small and limited to those in her geographic area, it then grew a little and she became 'connected' virtually through Facebook, but only in a very one-dimensional way. She explains that she would view photos and read posts, but there was limited or no engagement between them. This eventually changed when she was encouraged to log on to a video chat.
The author then shares how this video chat experience helped her launch a new digital platform to connect people with CF, submit a proposal for a conference (which was accepted), and get invited to participate on a panel to talk about the online health community field. These online communities focused on health, especially health issues, are clearly a meeting a need and filling a gap. Technology is allowing people to come together who otherwise would not be able to, so that they can discuss their treatments, share tips, and in general be supportive to one another.
I've written a lot about my role working with students on their career development, and as an educator, but the other piece of my job is a counselor. Online communities share a lot of similar properties to therapeutic groups. I don't think that these online communities should be formed on the basis of providing therapy, but they may share some general principles in the way they're structured. There is a significant amount of information out there about group dynamics and group theory, specifically these 5 stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning. I could see this somewhat in the online communities I had observed. They had obviously formed, storming had happen (and maybe continued) in the beginning and because of that group rules are set, think about moderators of chat forums or rules that get posted. When Norming happens cliques dissolve and group cohesion begins and performing may or may not occur, but if it does it means the group is being productive. Adjourning is the close of the group and disengagement from other members, so for some this might be when they leave, or if the group comes to an end (Retrieved from: FSU Med Website). While I can't say that these themes hold for all online communities, I do see some similarities and I think group counseling theory in general can be utilized when designing and evaluating online communities for non-counseling purposes.
Reference:
https://med.fsu.edu/uploads/files/FacultyDevelopment_GroupDevelopment.pdf
The author then shares how this video chat experience helped her launch a new digital platform to connect people with CF, submit a proposal for a conference (which was accepted), and get invited to participate on a panel to talk about the online health community field. These online communities focused on health, especially health issues, are clearly a meeting a need and filling a gap. Technology is allowing people to come together who otherwise would not be able to, so that they can discuss their treatments, share tips, and in general be supportive to one another.
I've written a lot about my role working with students on their career development, and as an educator, but the other piece of my job is a counselor. Online communities share a lot of similar properties to therapeutic groups. I don't think that these online communities should be formed on the basis of providing therapy, but they may share some general principles in the way they're structured. There is a significant amount of information out there about group dynamics and group theory, specifically these 5 stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning. I could see this somewhat in the online communities I had observed. They had obviously formed, storming had happen (and maybe continued) in the beginning and because of that group rules are set, think about moderators of chat forums or rules that get posted. When Norming happens cliques dissolve and group cohesion begins and performing may or may not occur, but if it does it means the group is being productive. Adjourning is the close of the group and disengagement from other members, so for some this might be when they leave, or if the group comes to an end (Retrieved from: FSU Med Website). While I can't say that these themes hold for all online communities, I do see some similarities and I think group counseling theory in general can be utilized when designing and evaluating online communities for non-counseling purposes.
Reference:
https://med.fsu.edu/uploads/files/FacultyDevelopment_GroupDevelopment.pdf
Thanks for your thoughts on group development. I have never heard of the 5 stages before and plan to do some more reading about that. I really think this could be helpful in my classroom/ work community at school as well. Great post!
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