Abstract
Life on the Line: the Therapeutic Potentials of Computer-Mediated Conversation
Miller J K~~Gergen K J
The authors report the results of research into exchanges on an electronic bulletin board devoted to the topic of suicide. Over an 11-month period participants offered each other valuable resources in terms of validation of experience, sympathy, acceptance, & encouragement. They also asked provocative questions & furnished broad-ranging advice. Hostile entries were rare. However, there were few messages that parallel the change-inducing practices more frequent within many therapeutic settings. In effect, online dialogues seemed more sustaining than transforming. Further limits & potentials of online communication are explored. (20 refs.)