Here is one more story that proves the internet has far more unanticipated effects than anyone could ever imagine.
One of the latest solutions has been for the so-called "mentally ill", who would once have been hospitalized or medicated, to connect through various sites, such as GangStalkingWorld.com, with others suffering from the same "delusions."
Commonly known as mind-control sites, the dark side of social networking allows social outcasts and misfits to find comfort by sharing their disturbing experiences with others. (Alien abduction and phone tapping are common shared fears.)
"The views of these belief systems are like a shark that has to be constantly fed," Dr. Ralph Hoffman, Yale Professor said, "If you don’t feed the delusion, sooner or later it will die out or diminish on its own accord. The key thing is that it needs to be repetitively reinforced."
While it is considered to be a trend that is helpful in many ways, the proliferation of personal injury or self-induced harm sites, such as anorexia, bulimia and the most disturbing of all, suicide, lead many observers to feel that the Internet isn’t a cause of mental illness, but it certainly does bring a complicated variable.
Social Networking For The Mentally Ill
Controversial Support Sites
Trend Themes
1. Online Support Communities - The trend toward online communities can be capitalized on by entrepreneurs to create profitable web-based support apps targeting various groups, including those struggling with mental and emotional challenges.
2. Dark Side of Social Networking - Entrepreneurs concerned with mental health and safety can focus on innovative solutions exploring the darker side of social networking, including developing tools that can detect patterns of self-harm or predatory behavior.
3. Virtual Mental Health Services - The trend toward online mental health support can be capitalized on by entrepreneurs to create cost-effective, accessible, and confidential mental health care provided by qualified professionals over the internet.
Industry Implications
1. Mental Health Care - Mental health care providers and startups can explore opportunities to create innovative digital mental health solutions that connect patients to peers and mental health professionals.
2. Online Social Networking - Online social networking companies can create new policies, algorithms, and AI-powered tools that safeguard vulnerable users from experiencing harmful or triggering content while still promoting free expression and speech.
3. Technology and Social Good - Tech startups focused on social good can explore ways to apply AI technologies to help identify the risk of self-harm and suicidal behavior on social networking sites, as well as develop other innovative mental health solutions.