Introduction
Online communities can offer a unique experience to everyone. I cannot exactly say I have much experience in an online community. The only interaction I have had in an online community is an online book forum I had joined during high school where we discussed a particular book I had really enjoyed reading. Unfortunately, I personally did not know anyone else who had read that particular book and I had really wanted to discuss that book with someone one, and so I decided to join the online forum. That experience was certainly enjoyable as I had the opportunity to share my ideas and in return hear from other people’s perspectives. Sharing such diverse ideas allowed for influencing other’s way of thinking and allowed me to connect with other individuals who
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For example, I am someone who has a tendency to feel very anxious around other individuals, however, participating in an online community can allow me to remain anonymous while still connecting with others. This can provide as a useful tool to help me feel comfortable to interact with others personally. The ultimate purpose of this paper is to explore the online community Families for
Depression Awareness. I chose this online community because I strongly recognize the importance of raising awareness of depression in families so as to inform families how they can help loved ones who are struggling with mood disorders. I, myself, used to struggle with depression when I was a teenager, and unfortunately my family did not know how to help me.
ONLINE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS 3
That experience made me feel isolated and like an outcast in my family. It took me a long time until recently to realize that they just did not know how to help me. It is worthy to note that my family is Hispanic, and in this culture, mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety are not considered a serious health
What was very intriguing was the follow up study provided by Nagel, Blignaut and Cronje (2007), in which student rated others’ participation. This study showed that peers could indicate which students were successful just by their participation. This indicates that online participation is essential to creating a healthy online community (Collison, et al., 2000).
The Latino community, from immigrating to United States born Latinos are often known to be depressed. Depression is a medical illness that causes a constant feeling of sadness and lack of interest, it affects how the person feels, behaves and thinks. Many Latinos rely on their extended family, community, traditional healers, or churches for help during a health crisis. As a result, many Latinos with mental illnesses often go without professional mental treatment. But why is it that Latinos are so reluctant to receiving help? Sheila Dichoso states that, “there are only 29 Latino mental-health professionals for every 100,000 Latinos in the United States, compared to 173 non-Hispanic white providers
In the United States, the Latino American population has risen by over 40% within the past decade and accounts for over 17.1% of the Nations society. In 2050, the Latino Community is expected to make up nearly one-fourth of the population and 2/3 of the U.S. Hispanics are from the Mexican-American Subgroup. In the United States, there has been extensive research examining the prevalence of varying psychiatric disorders among the Latino Hispanic Communities. There are many deeply rooted and socioeconomic factors that may contribute to the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of psychiatric disorders. Example factors, such as reception of immigrations, history of immigration, experiences involving discrimination, and strength of an ethnic community, are just to name a few. Due to the expansion of the Latino and Hispanic minorities in the United States, this has become a major challenge for today’s healthcare system.
3. Differences in values and beliefs define a person's choice for mental and physical health care. “Because health care is a cultural construct, arising from beliefs about the nature of disease and the human body, cultural issues are actually central in the delivery of health services treatment and preventive interventions” (Office of Minority Health, 2005, p. 6). It is important to acknowledge that Esmeralda fits into two categories of minority because Esmeralda is a Latina. It is important to know that Hispanic women are less likely to make full use of many social services even when they are provided to them. Hispanics normally are family oriented and that means Esmeralda will probably want to involve her family in any treatment program she
opportunity to share in this process and to have the confidence to put ideas forward that can be
I belong to an online community. It is full of wonderful, strange people, from all different walks of life, and it has been the best teacher I have ever had. I have learned more from this board, these people, and about human nature and altruism than anywhere else. I have also learned, first hand, about the capacity to care for another human being without expecting anything in return. Pure, unadulterated kindness. Let me give you an example.
The Internet provides just that. This may seem like isolation because no physical contact is present, and some or all of the things that are said might not be true. This is a misconception. People that are talking face to face with one another might be lying or might not be; the same is said for the Internet conversations. “People whose physical handicaps make it difficult to form new friendships find that virtual communities treat them as they always wanted to be treated” (Rheingold 206). Equality and understanding is the key, and the virtual community provides that and much more.
Online communities provide social advantages for two groups of people. First of all, persons with certain handicaps that limit their mobility can benefit from the easy handling and accessibility of the internet. They get the chance to interact with other people disregarding their special needs. For example, someone who cannot leave their house due to an illness is
Dholakia, Bagozzi, and Pearo (2004) recognized some of the main features of virtual communities. The human desire for connection has created online or virtual communities. There is a main difference from physical communities in that in this type people meet face to face and then they maintain a relationship while in online communities people-users form first online
Although, I have struggled with a number of obstacles and dealt with them on my own, something that affected me in a great way and was difficult for me to deal with was watching my mom struggle, herself. My mom has always battled mental illnesses. I
Online students often indicate they miss the personal interactions in a classroom environment. These forums enable you to create your own
Imagine a virtual community of more than 2.7 million residents. Individuals are almost always up-to-date on what their friends are up to and often converse with them on a daily basis, even if they live halfway across the world. They often meet others through mutual acquaintances or shared interests and can develop fast friendships. Communication is quick and easy; within minutes, one can publicize an event, engage in a debate, or publish a piece of writing, all without leaving the house.
Communities of relationship around certain life experiences that often are very intense and can lead to the information of deep personal connections (e.g. cancer forums).
People who are very shy and find it difficult to interact with others may develop an Internet addiction because meeting people online seems less intimidating than face-to-face communication. The desire for human connection is extremely powerful, even among people suffering from social anxiety. Visiting forums and chat rooms gives them a way to develop relationships without directly facing their fears and insecurity of being judged. They can carefully control how they are perceived by others when they communicate online, even going so far as to create an alternate personality that is not entirely based in reality.
When my parents first realized that my father might have complete renal failure, they didn’t initially tell me or my sister. There were many times that we were picked up from school by a family friend because my parents