'Do you feel sorry for him?': gift relations in an HIV/AIDS on-line support forum.
Sociologists have debated whether meaningful emotional relationships can be formed on-line. Drawing on Mauss' concept of the gift, I explore how caregivers who participate in Hope, an on-line support forum dedicated to HIV/AIDS, incorporate moral percepts and understandings about ethics into their caregiving experiences. Their intense discussions on the essence of familial loyalties give rise to emotionally vibrant, empathic communities in which a socio-emotional economy is formulated. Can the Internet act as a moral space? How are concepts such as reciprocity, obligation, and commitment talked about and practiced in an on-line forum that exists in the ever present?
Bar-Lev
Shirly
S
School of Engineering, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel. barlevsh@ruppin.ac.il
D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D004645:Empathy; D005195:Family Relations; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D028681:Moral Obligations; D011287:Prejudice; D012657:Self-Help Groups