YouTube as a Social Support Tool: Networks, Identity, Ethics

Introduction: Social Media and Social Support

Way before the Internet exploded, Marshall McLuhan (1964) said that "the medium is the message." His statement is remarkably applicable in our society today, where the internet is instrumental in communication. Communication technology has grown and continues to grow exponentially, and it cannot be ignored in the current environment. It has altered the way people interact, how we learn, and how we entertain ourselves. Because of the exponential growth of information sharing and electronic communication, pioneers in social support have come up with ways to use communication technology for treatment (Huang and Alessi, 1996; Murphy and Mitchell, 1998; Smith and Reynolds, 2002) and to deliver interventions on the internet (Mishna et al., 2012).

This essay seeks to establish how social networking sites have impacted the practice of social support and the ethical issues arising from that impact: how social networking sites have affected social and personal identities, ways in which these sites have influenced functional and geographical communities, the psychological implications of social networking, and the significance of social networking through anti-oppressive dimensions. This analysis is grounded in a review of relevant literature, and the social networking site used as a central reference is YouTube.

YouTube was started in 2005 as a site for sharing videos and is one of the most popular websites in the world. The videos on YouTube come from all over the world, are available in different languages, and have a very wide reach in the United States — even more than any particular cable network. It is a free site that can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection. The possible advantages and disadvantages of sharing sensitive health information on social media have been discussed extensively, and people are increasingly using social media channels like YouTube to look for advice or share personal experiences. Given the growth of social media, there is genuine potential for people to turn to YouTube to find support for Severe Mental Illness (SMI) (Naslund et al., 2014).

In the recent past, people have started viewing social media as more than just platforms to broadcast thoughts, opinions, and less serious musings at a time when other means of communication may be ineffective (Norval et al., 2011). According to Naslund et al. (2014), YouTube is the third major social networking site by user accounts, after Facebook and Google+. YouTube is a video-sharing social networking site that allows users to create accounts, subscribe to channels, upload videos for free, and comment on and share videos with other users. This aspect of YouTube makes it a powerful networking tool that opens up significant opportunity for effective social work practice.

Impact on Social Support Practice

As the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem half solved. YouTube is available in 61 different languages, and anyone with access to the internet can view videos on the platform, upload content, post comments, and share videos with others. Even though certain risks accompany the sharing of health information online, YouTube is rapidly becoming one of the avenues to which persons and patients turn in order to share their experiences or seek information from others who have faced or are facing similar situations.

Social media gives people opportunities to build connections, receive or provide support, and share their experiences. Various groups have been formed on platforms like Facebook for people dealing with particular illnesses, and videos posted on YouTube — along with dedicated forums such as PatientsLikeMe — allow users to share and discuss their experiences. Despite the massive usage of social media by the general population, comparatively little attention has been paid to the use of social media by people with SMI (Naslund et al., 2014).

People with severe mental illness (SMI) are likely to share their views through blogs, build relationships via social media, or use the internet to obtain information about their conditions. Social media as a medium is non-threatening and provides opportunities for connecting with other individuals from the comfort and safety of one's home. Yet uncertainty remains about the specific ways social media can be used to deliver peer support among SMI individuals (Naslund et al., 2014).

YouTube has impacted social support practice in that the support provider — whether a professional or a peer — does not necessarily have to make physical contact with the person seeking support (Reamer, 2013). In cases where distance and time are barriers to physical communication, YouTube provides the bridge. A social support provider can record a video message, upload it to YouTube, and share it with the intended person. This platform therefore provides storage capabilities that are not available through instant video chat platforms (Naslund et al., 2014). YouTube has consequently served to broaden social support practice by offering expanded provider-client, provider-provider, and client-client networking opportunities.

In YouTube's context, people from all walks of life come to the site to search for information about their health conditions and to share their stories and experiences. For instance, analysis of YouTube videos and comments shared by individuals with multiple sclerosis reveals that many people disclose their personal conditions on such platforms and upload videos to advise or offer encouragement to others experiencing the same condition (Naslund et al., 2014).

With the growth of social media, professionals in the field are only beginning to explore its vast potential and to establish rules governing the interaction of patients and professionals on such platforms (Brown, 2010; Judd and Johnston, 2012). This rapid growth carries several implications for the field. Cyber communication can be used universally and is increasingly unavoidable. It is not practical to adopt policies that prohibit cyber communication between professionals and clients, as clients can always search the internet to find the contact information of various practitioners (Mishna et al., 2012).

Social and Personal Identities Online

YouTube has a significant effect on improving an individual's social identity, particularly when the video uploaded is relevant and resonates with the majority of users (Naslund et al., 2014). The primary measure of a YouTube video's appeal is the number of views and, to some extent, shares. The more views a video receives, the higher it is ranked as relevant to that specific niche. If a social support provider produces a video that receives a high number of views, it increases the provider's visibility and recognition among social support seekers, thereby positively impacting their social identity.

From another angle of social identity theory (e.g., Hogg and Abrams, 1988), political correctness (PC) discourses do not openly discuss various social groups, so members of such groups may feel alienated. On one side are people who may feel threatened by the claims and demands of individuals who belong to groups that have historically been disadvantaged. This threat may be perceived as a right-wing backlash — a perceived challenge to the social group the individual belongs to, grounded in concerns about that group's privileges or rights. Such threats have been linked to various psychological processes. Spears, Doosje, and Ellemers (1997), for instance, discovered that when threatened, high group identifiers engaged in greater self-stereotyping. Jetten, Spears, and Manstead (1997) similarly found greater in-group bias under the same conditions. Grant (1993) showed that a threat to a group's identity produced more intergroup differentiation (Lalonde et al., 2000).

People who identify as Black, gay/lesbian, or feminist are more likely to believe the stereotype of the "PC basher" and less likely to endorse the stereotype of the "PC crusader." Such beliefs suggest that the individual perceives other groups as threatening to their own group's ideologies (Lalonde et al., 2000).

Gender Ideology: Some differences among groups were predicted in PC perceptions because the groups hold different beliefs. Feminists and their supporters were less likely to agree with the PC basher stereotype, regardless of whether respondents were traditional or non-traditional. Self-identified feminists scored notably lower on conservative attitude measures — including the Protestant Ethic scale, Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), and ideological meritocracy — than both non-traditional and traditional respondents (Lalonde et al., 2000). Feminists and their supporters also used the term "political correctness" more frequently than either comparison group.

Sexual Orientation: Notable differences existed between heterosexuals and gay/lesbian respondents. Belief in the PC crusader stereotype was more prevalent among heterosexuals, while gay and lesbian respondents showed stronger belief in the PC basher stereotype (Lalonde et al., 2000).

Race: No predicted differences were found between White and Black respondents with regard to the two stereotypes. One difference did emerge: self-identified White individuals were more likely to use the term "PC" in conversation (M = 2.26) than their Black counterparts (M = 1.50, t(43) = 4.15, p < .001) (Lalonde et al., 2000).