Support Groups - Post 2

As I spend more and more time with the online support groups for addiction I have gained more insight into the sites' affordances and what the users value within them. I have found that users tend to favor one support group over another and do not utilize more than one website. Those on Smart Recovery tend to only use Smart and often have negative things to say about other online support forums such as AA. Those in the AA chats/forums often vocalize the same ideas about other forums, as well. Many of them said that it is all personal preference and others may use more than one site, but not many admitted to doing this themselves. Perhaps this is due to the sense of community they feel in their own forum. Although no one vocalized it, it seemed almost a betrayal to utilize another site.

The overall atmosphere is different in the different sites. I have felt the most welcome at Smart Recovery and seem to get the most helpful feedback. It also seems to be a more professional atmosphere. There are fewer users in each chatroom and the conversation flows more easily. They use full words and correct punctuation. The AA chat room and the forums on Addiction Tribe are more casual and use more "chat room language". The AA chat room is often hard to follow as there are many conversations going on at once and they tend to be about very different topics. The users in the AA chat room seem to know eachother better and have closer relationships than those on Addication Tribe or Smart Recovery. The chat rooms on Addication Tribe (from what I can find) are rarely used. These users seem to prefer personal profiles and the online forums.

I am glad that I have chosen to participate in more than one support group. I think it has provided a better understanding of all the different types of support. It is interesting how different sites are utilized in completely different ways. I look forward to gaining more knowledge and insight about these online support groups and their users.