CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 54Privacy, Security, and Data ProtectionSocial Media in Health EducationImpact of Technology on Adolescents

Risks to Privacy With Use of Social Media: Understanding the Views of Social Media Users With Serious Mental Illness

Open access
Naslund, John A., Aschbrenner, Kelly A.·2019·Psychiatric Services
DOI 10.1176/appi.ps.201800520PMC PMC6602849
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Social media may afford new opportunities to enhance mental health services; however, privacy risks have received less attention. This study explored privacy risks of using social media for reasons related to mental health from the perspectives of social media users with serious mental illness. METHODS: Twitter users who self-identified in their profile as having a serious mental illness participated in an online survey inquiring whether they were ever concerned about risks to their privacy when using social media for anything related to their mental illness. User characteristics were compared between those who were concerned about risks and those who were not. Participants' responses to an open-ended question about privacy risks were analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Among 90 respondents who self-identified as having schizophrenia spectrum disorders (40%), bipolar disorder (37%), or major depressive disorder (23%), more than one-third (36%) expressed concerns about privacy risks with using social media. Risks were more frequently reported among respondents with a college degree, compared with those without a college degree, and among respondents who were currently working or in school, compared with those who were not currently working. Thematic analysis of participants' responses to the open-ended question yielded four categories of risk: threats to employment, fear of stigma and being judged, impact on personal relationships, and facing hostility or being hurt. CONCLUSIONS: These findings offer preliminary insights about the types of privacy risks that individuals with serious mental illness are concerned about when using social media for their mental health. The findings can inform the safety of future social media interventions.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1176/appi.ps.201800520

Cites

8 of 8 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The reported risks of social media use were directly related to many aspects of everyday life, including concerns about threats to employment, fear of stigma and being judged, impact on personal relationships, and facing hostility or being hurt.

    “The reported risks of social media use were directly related to many aspects of everyday life, including concerns about threats to employment, fear of stigma and being judged, impact on personal relationships, and facing hostility or being hurt (Naslund & Aschbrenner, 2019)”

    From Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice (2020) · cites this paper as Naslund & Aschbrenner, 2019

  • A recent study of social media users with serious mental illnesses found that over one third of participants expressed concerns about privacy when using social media.

    “found that over one third of participants expressed concerns about privacy when using social media (Naslund & Aschbrenner, 2019)”

    From Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice (2020) · cites this paper as Naslund & Aschbrenner, 2019

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 26

  1. [1]Draine J, Salzer MS, Culhane DP,: Role of social disadvantage in crime, joblessness, and homelessness among persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services 53: 565– 73, 2002 11986504
  2. [3]Kazdin AE: Addressing the treatment gap: A key challenge for extending evidence-based psychosocial interventions. Behaviour research and therapy 88: 7– 18, 2017 28110678
  3. [5]Naslund J, Aschbrenner K, Marsch L,: The future of mental health care: peer-to-peer support and social media. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences 25: 113– 22, 2016 26744309 PMC4830464
  4. [6]Birnbaum ML, Rizvi AF, Correll CU,: Role of social media and the Internet in pathways to care for adolescents and young adults with psychotic disorders and non-psychotic mood disorders. Early intervention in psychiatry 11: 290– 5, 2017 25808317 PMC4580496
  5. [8]Naslund JA, Grande SW, Aschbrenner KA,: Naturally occurring peer support through social media: the experiences of individuals with severe mental illness using YouTube. PLOS one 9: e110171, 2014 25333470 PMC4198188
  6. [10]Gowen K, Deschaine M, Gruttadara D,: Young adults with mental health conditions and social networking websites: seeking tools to build community. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 35: 245– 50, 2012 22246123
  7. [11]Aschbrenner KA, Naslund JA, Shevenell M,: Feasibility of behavioral weight loss treatment enhanced with peer support and mobile health technology for individuals with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Quarterly 87: 401– 15, 2016 26462674 PMC4929042
  8. [12]Aschbrenner KA, Naslund JA, Shevenell M,: A pilot study of a peer-group lifestyle intervention enhanced with mHealth technology and social media for adults with serious mental illness. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 204: 483– 6, 2016 27233056 PMC4887192
  9. [15]Torous J, Nebeker C: Navigating ethics in the digital age: introducing Connected and Open Research Ethics (CORE), a tool for researchers and institutional review boards. Journal of Medical Internet Research 19: e38, 2017 28179216 PMC5322198
  10. [16]Torous J, Keshavan M: The role of social media in schizophrenia: evaluating risks, benefits, and potential. Current opinion in psychiatry 29: 190– 5, 2016 26967314
  11. [19]Hsieh H-F, Shannon SE: Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative health research 15: 1277– 88, 2005 16204405
  12. [20]Charmaz K: The search for meanings - grounded theory; in Rethinking Methods in Psychology. Edited by Smith LA, Harre R, Van Langenhove L. London, UK: Sage Publications, 1996
  13. [21]Kondracki NL, Wellman NS, Amundson DR: Content analysis: review of methods and their applications in nutrition education. Journal of nutrition education and behavior 34: 224– 30, 2002 12217266
  14. [22]Norman CD, Skinner HA: eHealth literacy: essential skills for consumer health in a networked world. Journal of Medical Internet Research 8: e9, 2006 16867972 PMC1550701
  15. [26]Luciano A, Meara E: Employment status of people with mental illness: national survey data from 2009 and 2010. Psychiatric Services 65: 1201– 9, 2014 24933361 PMC4182106
  16. [27]Mechanic D, Bilder S, McAlpine DD: Employing persons with serious mental illness. Health Affairs 21: 242– 53, 2002 12224889
  17. [28]Provencher HL, Gregg R, Mead S,: The role of work in the recovery of persons with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 26: 132– 44, 2002 12433216
  18. [30]Bush PW, Drake RE, Xie H,: The long-term impact of employment on mental health service use and costs for persons with severe mental illness. Psychiatric Services 60: 1024– 31, 2009 19648188
  19. [31]Luciano A, Bond GR, Drake RE: Does employment alter the course and outcome of schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses? A systematic review of longitudinal research. Schizophrenia research 159: 312– 21, 2014 25278105
  20. [32]Nicholson J, Wright SM, Carlisle AM,: The WorkingWell Mobile Phone App for Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses: Proof-of-Concept, Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study. JMIR mental health 5: e11383, 2018 30361199 PMC6231827
  21. [35]Highton-Williamson E, Priebe S, Giacco D: Online social networking in people with psychosis: a systematic review. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 61: 92– 101, 2015 25381145
  22. [36]McKenna KY, Bargh JA: Coming out in the age of the Internet: Identity” demarginalization” through virtual group participation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 75: 681– 94, 1998
  23. [38]Schon U-K, Denhov A, Topor A: Social relationships as a decisive factor in recovering from severe mental illness. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 55: 336– 47, 2009 19553363
  24. [39]Whitley R, Campbell RD: Stigma, agency and recovery amongst people with severe mental illness. Social Science & Medicine 107: 1– 8, 2014 24602965
  25. [41]Berry N, Emsley R, Lobban F,: Social media and its relationship with mood, self-esteem and paranoia in psychosis. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 138: 558– 70, 2018 30203454 PMC6221086
  26. [42]Bauer M, Glenn T, Monteith S,: Ethical perspectives on recommending digital technology for patients with mental illness. International journal of bipolar disorders 5, 2017 PMC5293713 28155206

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Naslund, J. A., & Aschbrenner, K. A.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Psychiatric Services
Publisher
American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published
2019-07-01
Volume
70
Issue
7
Pages
561-568
ISSN
  • 0022-1597 (ISSN-L)
  • 1075-2730
  • 1557-9700
DOI
10.1176/appi.ps.201800520
PMC
PMC6602849
OpenAlex
W2935264049
Cited by
54
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
FWCI
14.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Psychiatric Services (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5u19mh113211-05, 5r01mh110965-05)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH‐110965, U19 MH-113211)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
  • Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
Keywords
social media, privacy risks, severe mental illness, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, stigma, employment risk, online harassment, social media interventions
MeSH terms
Adult, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health Services, Risk, Schizophrenia, Privacy, Qualitative Research, Social Media

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review