Study concludes blogging has therapeutic value.

[Richard B Riddick]

IN the days before the instantly pinged “OMG Where R U?,” the first words many teenagers composed during their fretful moments were “Dear Diary.” After several paragraphs of spewing onto paper adolescent angst about cafeteria slights, unreciprocated crushes and oversize thighs, the diarist often felt better.

Research has long backed the therapeutic value of diary-keeping for teenage girls and boys. But according to a new study, when teenagers detail their woes onto a blog, the therapeutic value is even greater. Blogging, it seems, can be good for you.

The study, published in the journal Psychological Services and conducted by Meyran Boniel-Nissim and Azy Barak, psychology professors at the University of Haifa, Israel, found the engagement with an online community allowed by the blog format made it more effective in relieving the writer’s social distress than a private diary would be.

To track teenagers’ experiences with blogging, the researchers randomly surveyed high school students in Israel and selected 161 of them (124 girls and 37 boys, a significant gender skew) who exhibited some level of social anxiety or stress. The teenagers, who averaged 15 years old, said they had difficult making new friends or relating to their existing friends.

And so to the Internet. The teenagers were divided into six groups. The first two groups were asked to blog about their social difficulties, with one group asked to open their posts to comments. The second two groups were asked to blog about whatever struck their adolescent fancy; again, with one group allowing comments. All four groups were told to write in their blogs at least twice a week. As a control, two more groups were told to keep either an old-fashioned print diary or to do nothing at all.

All of their blog entries were then pored over by four psychologists to determine the authors’ relative social and emotional state. In all the groups, the greatest improvement in mood occurred among those bloggers who wrote about their problems and allowed commenters to respond.

Interestingly, the commenters on the blogs were overwhelmingly supportive. “The only kind of surprise we had was that almost all comments made by readers were very positive and constructive in trying to offer support for distressed bloggers,” Dr. Barak wrote in an e-mail.

The findings may hold in the real virtual world as well. “I definitely write posts in which I talk about being overwhelmed, and it helps me to relax,” said Royar Loflin, a 17-year-old blogger from Norfolk, Va., who did not participate in the study. Though her blog, “My Life as a Young Southern Prep,” includes everything from fashion to book reviews, Royar also writes about the stress of her junior year.

“People will write in the comments, ‘I remember when I was in your shoes’ ” and ‘Don’t worry — you’ll get through the SATs!’ and it’s wonderful,” she said. “It really helps put everything into perspective.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/fashion/blogging-as-therapy-for-teenagers.html

Maybe the internet is good for something after all.

I wonder if this could be an effective treatment for depression, autism, aspergers, etc. It seems there are a good number of behavioral and anxiety based maladies out there which could possibly be responsive towards internet positive reinforcement type feedack, but to be honest, I really don't know.

I just thought this was interesting...

 

[Shu]

[Moved to Costa Del Sol]

 

[Mermaid]

I blogged a lot (properly!) from the ages of about 14-17. It did help imo, in my case anyway.
Now I just log onto tumblr and see fantastic looking women who actually own the blog and go 'WHY NOT MEEEEEE' lol.
Awe well, I still like having the occasional rant on there to make me feel a bit better.... plus it's such a good feeling to have someone say back 'Yeah, completely get that'.

 

[Martel]

I'd actually be inclined to believe this...I've kept a Livejournal since I was 16, and the friends I have on my contacts list there are the ones I've known for the longest. I used to rant quite a bit about my problems when I was younger (now that I'm older, I just rant in general) and I suppose it helped me in some fashion. I can't really imagine life without it, anyway.

Although I don't think this really needed a study...it's the same sort of thing as any real life friendship. Friends being there for you when you're upset, etc etc. Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it should be any different...theoretically, anyway

 

[Ayu]

It's common knowledge that letting it all out helps, even if you don't share it to anyone.

Just being able to write out your feelings and thoughts lifts a burden and will help you deal with it better.

 

[Tyler Breeze]

Pure lies. I've had a blog for about a year now and if anything, I'm more pissed off than ever. Letting it all out helps for about a day, and then you feel the emotions again, so you blog again. It's my never ending cycle! Guh..... I don't know, maybe that's just me. But I know for sure that blogging does not help me.

 

[Shinra Executive]

@the OP

I agree that blogging in general is therapeutic. In fact, I sort of made that assessment before knowing of any study. Blogging let's you share your ideas, interests, criticisms, etc., Anything you have on your mind, you just tell it to the world. It's therapy on a silver platter.