About the name of the blog

Do we need forks? is a name that reflects my philosophy about technology - the first question we should ask is "Do I NEED this?" Will it make my life and meaningful occupations easier, or better in some way?
As a student (first time around), I remember reading a scene from a play set in the 1600s, where French nobles were wondering what to do with a fork. The social context meant that forks were unnecessary. In that time, people would bring a knife, use a spoon for liquids, and hands for everything else. In a different social context where people are concerned about hygiene, a fork seems relevant. Or you could just wash your hands really well before each meal.
This philosophy about technology relates well to frameworks of occupational therapy. We look at the person - do they really need this technology? - the occupation - how meaningful is this occupation and do they need technology to make it easier to participate in? - and the environment, which includes social factors - is this technology going to fit with their environment?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Online community two - a Facebook support group


This is a Facebook page called Post Natal Depression and is set up in London, United Kingdom.  It is the largest group I could find on Facebook, with 326 members.  Members can post photos, post on the wall, and contribute to discussions.

Several members have posted on the wall, eg
This seems like a really gd idea i wad diagnosed with pnd about 6 month after my son was born he's now 11 months he's my world and I love him with all my heart but there are some days wen I feel so low I don't see the point in doing anything, but I found talking about it hard at first but now I will quite happily talk about it so other ppl know wat it is and that its normal and happens to millions of woman, all the advice I can give is don't stop loving yourself and remember to spend some time on yourself it really made a difference to me.
but not many have contributed to discussions.

This group made me think about the fact that Facebook is of a public nature.  When you make a post or comment, all your friends are notified, unless you know how to turn off this feature.  A forum, on the other hand, requires a username (which may differ from your real name) and some degree of privacy.

I also noticed on two separate Facebook support pages for postnatal depression that there were journalists and researchers trawling for subjects.  With a forum, those people would have to join as members, and may then subject to forum rules "eg no advertising" that would prevent asking people to take part in studies.

As with the forum, the same issues apply regarding a lack of face-to-face contact, but this provides an opportunity to create that contact and also to provide support to people who are geographically isolated, even if just to see that there are other people out there with the same problem.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)