Research on computer mediated communication in online support groups

communities, researchers, particularly in communication, sociology and psychology, have begun to put high attention on the communication patterns that take place online. Types of communication, communication strategies adopted by users online are some of the areas being investigated. When investigating communication in an online support group setting, interpersonal communication came into play in which statement of support and self- disclosures were two most common types (Wood & Smith, 2005). Participants frequently engaged in self-disclosure as they shared intimate details and emotions which had therapeutic value that conjured empathetic statements, complemented by gratitude expressions for the support given by other participants (Miller & Gergen, 1998).

Engagement in computer-mediated social support groups had been reported to help patients effective cope with their chronic illness during its course by increasing feelings of self- efficacy and information competence and by decreasing breast cancer-related challenges and negative emotions (Han et al., 2008; Rice, 2006; Shaw et al., 2007). All this can be achieved through communicating using appropriate language. The key concepts in language use for support in online communication are illustrated in Table 2.3.

36 Table 2.3.

Key Concepts in Language use for Support in Online Communication

Concept Source

Verbal/written language Language Expectancy Theory Burgoon & Burgoon (2001) Symbolic Interactionism (Blumer, 1969) Empathic communication (Preece, 2000) Linguistic Softeners (Wallace, 1999)

Non-verbal language Social Presence Theory (Gunawardena, 1995; Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976) Media appropriateness (Rice, 1993) Linguistic Softeners (Wallace, 1999) Emoticons (Preece, 2000) Netspeak acronyms (Lehnert, 1998) Discourse

One of the frequently studied areas of communication, be it online or offline, is discourse. Discourse can be defined as an extended stretch of “contextually sensitive written

and spoken language produced as part of the interaction between speakers and hearers and writers and readers” (Candlin, Maley, & Sutch, 1999, p. 321). The notion of ‘contextually sensitive written or spoken language’ refers to the context or setting of the discourse and how it is being investigated or analysed, for example, from a linguistic practice or social/institutional practice. In this study, ‘discourse’ is defined as “socially constructed ways of knowing some aspects of reality which can be drawn upon when those aspects of reality have to be presented, or, to put it another way, context-specific frameworks for making sense of things” (van Leeuwen, 2009, p. 144). The focus of this current study is to understand aspects of the reality of social support in the context of online communication adopting Facebook as a platform. The idea of intertextuality playing a part as a discourse of health (social support) and new media (Facebook) is presented in this study. Discourse in the context of healthcare can be seen as a central activity which endeavours to promote positive (or otherwise) outcomes and patient satisfaction (Harvey & Adolphs, 2012). However, instead of the patient, this study refers to the users of Facebook who join the online support group. Previously, media discourse denoted discourse as “the interactions that occur through a broadcast platform, spoken or written, to a non-present reader, listener or viewer, who is unable to make instantaneous responses to the producers(s) of the discourse” (O'Keeffe, 2012, p. 441). However, this notion is changing with the emergence of new media,

particularly social media. The users of social media, in the context of this study, referring to the members of the Facebook social support group, are able to produce the interactions and response synchronously or asynchronously.

Many studies have adopted discourse analysis in various contexts, using different approaches or perspectives such as sociocognitive, discourse-historical, dialectical-relational and corpus-linguistics. The choice of the approaches/perspectives adopted in the studies depends on the focus and purpose of the discourse analysis. The studies on discourse range in areas such as politics (Vaara, 2014), institutions (Ybema, 2014), media (O'Keeffe, 2012),

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education (Van Dijk, 1981), and marketing (Kenning, 2008). Relational dialectic perspective is considered suitable for this study as it refers to a knot of contradictions in a relationship or perpetual interplay between contrary or conflicting tendencies (Griffin, 2011). The four concepts underpinning relational dialectics are (i) relationship is non-linear; (ii) relational life is influenced by the change; (iii) contradiction is central in relational life; and (iv) communication is fundamental in shaping and negotiating relational contradictions (Richard & Turner, 2010).

Narrative as a form of discourse of online communication

Narrative refers to the narrative statement, be it the oral or written discourse that undertakes to tell of an event or a series of events. The narrative is an important component of the discussion in most online support groups. The narrative in a form of story-telling is a central communication skill involving cognitive, knowledge, and language skills (Soto & Hartmann, 2006). The narrative is critical in meaning- making and social-psychological understanding (Genereux & McKeough, 2007). Many studies had been conducted on the purposes and effects of story-telling. People reflected on their difficult experiences and used story-telling to make sense of those experiences (Koenig & Trees, 2006). In addition, families commonly used story-telling to convey values to their children (Kyratzis, 2005) in

which family stories tend to be highly personal (Sherman, 1990). However, in this study, parents in the online support groups (AM FB) were comfortable in sharing their family stories with other members.

Narrative discourse is produced by “the action of telling in the same way that any enunciation was produced” (Genette, 1980, pp. 25-26). It can be told in verbal or written discourses. Using narrative of family stories in an online setting is commonly known as self- disclosure. Self-disclosure of difficult situations had been proven to have positive effects on an individual’s well-being (Pennebaker, 2003). As people who participated in an online support group had different experiences, they mediated these differences based on their

dialogic interactions (Innes, 2007), which might be imperative in an online support group setting. This is because the lack of non-verbal features (facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures) encourages misinterpretations of the intended meanings among the

participants/members in the online support groups. This struggle of managing online communication to avoid communication being misinterpreted by others in the online

communities was also highlighted by Kevin et al. (2013). Kevin suggested that “satisfaction with one’s support network in face-to-face and computer-mediated contexts was often contingent upon the complicated process of managing difficult individual coping needs

while simultaneously attempting to handle delicate relational concerns when seeking support” (2013, p. 44). Although many studies had highlighted the benefits of narrative discourse between parents and children, such as “developing a more advanced understanding of others' thoughts and feelings” (Guajardo & Watson, 2002, p. 320), and promoting health benefits (Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999), similar benefits could also be applied between adults. The narrative discourse which included negative emotions helped the individuals to learn how to negotiate social relationships and manage their own affect (Lagattuta & Wellman, 2002). Research also claimed that “both emotion-laden discourse and positive affect facilitated the construction of emotional and relational understanding and it seemed plausible that

emotional and relational understanding was enhanced when emotion was discussed in the context of shared positivity” (Laible & Song, 2006, p. 207). Hence, the findings of this study will either support or dispute these claims.