There have been many very
interesting projects shown this year in contemporary moral issues that address
an incredibly wide range of topics. For the most part, all of these presentations
have been exceedingly well done and as such, it has been difficult to choose
which two on which to do my blog posts. In the end, my choices came down to
which two projects for which I could think of the most suggestions. It is not
that they are necessarily inherently bad projects, but in a group with such
outstanding projects it is easiest to write my posts on the ones that I could
think of things to say about other than “good job.”
The other project I am going to discuss is Reel in Support, a program aimed helping people with emotional or mental health concerns find online support groups with which they can talk through their issues. As someone who is very interested in mental health and establish programs that promote mental wellbeing, I find the goal of this project to be admirable. However, there are several issues that would need to be addressed before this project could move forward and become an actual, real-world initiative. The first issue that presents itself is that of trolling, or people who go onto the internet and say intentionally hurtful things to people for some sort of sick thrill. The anonymity provided by the internet already brings out the worst elements of already horrible people, and such individuals would likely view the Reel in Support website in a similar manner as that with which a kid would view a candy store. I find it ironic that this group is named Reel in Support when the phrase “to troll” originally meant to dangle a baited fishing line behind a boat in the hopes that a fish would bite the hook with very little effort involved on the part of the troller. This website, by being full of emotionally vulnerable individuals who need help would almost invite trolls to sign up and post hurtful messages. Another objection with this project is that by hosting the support groups through the anonymous mask the internet provides, it is arguably undermining the whole point of support groups. They are a place to talk out issues with a qualified therapist and individuals who have gone through similar issues yes, but the face to face interaction with said individuals grants both greater reassurance and connectedness that people who have gone through traumatic events can potentially lack and the accountability provided by the group members. In short, I think there is a place for web-based, “emergency” sort of therapy and tools for locating in person group therapies, but an online group session is not likely to be very helpful.
The other project I am going to discuss is Reel in Support, a program aimed helping people with emotional or mental health concerns find online support groups with which they can talk through their issues. As someone who is very interested in mental health and establish programs that promote mental wellbeing, I find the goal of this project to be admirable. However, there are several issues that would need to be addressed before this project could move forward and become an actual, real-world initiative. The first issue that presents itself is that of trolling, or people who go onto the internet and say intentionally hurtful things to people for some sort of sick thrill. The anonymity provided by the internet already brings out the worst elements of already horrible people, and such individuals would likely view the Reel in Support website in a similar manner as that with which a kid would view a candy store. I find it ironic that this group is named Reel in Support when the phrase “to troll” originally meant to dangle a baited fishing line behind a boat in the hopes that a fish would bite the hook with very little effort involved on the part of the troller. This website, by being full of emotionally vulnerable individuals who need help would almost invite trolls to sign up and post hurtful messages. Another objection with this project is that by hosting the support groups through the anonymous mask the internet provides, it is arguably undermining the whole point of support groups. They are a place to talk out issues with a qualified therapist and individuals who have gone through similar issues yes, but the face to face interaction with said individuals grants both greater reassurance and connectedness that people who have gone through traumatic events can potentially lack and the accountability provided by the group members. In short, I think there is a place for web-based, “emergency” sort of therapy and tools for locating in person group therapies, but an online group session is not likely to be very helpful.
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