Online support groups have been meeting since at least 1982
Long before social media, people facing illness, grief or addiction were finding each other through computers. The internet has hosted support groups since at least 1982. Their staying power helped prove that people will discuss deeply personal matters through a screen, and paved the way for therapy delivered online.
A support group brings together people who share some burden, usually to exchange help that is neither professional nor material. Members swap information and coping strategies, recount their own experiences, listen, and build a sense of community and empowerment. Some also campaign or educate the public. They differ from advocacy or lobby groups, such as trade unions, which push for causes; the defining feature here is peer-to-peer support.
The idea is less modern than it seems. Formal groups partly echo fraternal bodies such as the Freemasons and take over some roles once filled by extended families. Many are run entirely by volunteers with personal experience, sometimes called fellowships or mutual aid groups; twelve-step programmes like Alcoholics Anonymous are the best known. Others are led by professionals, such as social workers, psychologists or clergy, who usually do not share the members' situation and who steer the discussion, often in hospitals, treatment centres or prisons.
Groups meet in person, keep in touch through newsletters and telephone chains, or gather entirely online. Some control admission and charge fees, while others welcome anyone who turns up. Their role shifts with the problem. For a lasting condition or identity, a group becomes a store of information and a public voice; for something temporary like bereavement, it focuses more on helping people get through.
Finding a good one can be tricky. Henry Potts of University College London has called online groups an overlooked resource and argued that research on them has lagged, especially on groups founded by the people affected, which share practical knowledge professionals may miss. The psychologist John Grohol notes a telling sign of quality: in the best groups, members stay on after receiving help so they can offer the same to newcomers.
Source: Support group
