title: The rise and fall of 'girlsdrinkdiaries.com': dilemmas and opportunities when creating online forums to investigate health behaviour.
abstract: This paper explores the potential dilemmas and opportunities for setting up online discussion forums when undertaking research on health-related behaviour. It draws on the setting up of a website called 'girlsdrinkdiaries.com' which sought to understand young women's relationship(s) with alcohol and their feelings about drinking and drunkenness. I reflect on how the use of virtual space may allow for more liberated and 'free' talk about sensitive topics in health, yet at the same time may create a voyeuristic and potentially abusive environment. In doing so, I explore the ultimate demise of the website and therefore the potential problems of utilising online methods. I suggest that researchers need to carefully mitigate and negotiate harm when considering such methods, whilst also acknowledging how participants themselves resist and negotiate risk in virtual places.
authors: Institute of Science and the Environment, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester, WR2 6AJ, United Kingdom. Electronic address: m.stepney@worc.ac.uk.
authors: Melissa
authors: M
authors: Stepney
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D061108:Social Media; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol; Health; Internet; Online; Women