Safe Space During COVID-19: Online forums as places of community, knowledge exchange and safety

Jennifer Cole

Safe Space During COVID-19: Online forums as places of community, knowledge exchange and safety

Jennifer Cole

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

Place can broadly be defined as “a space or location with meaning” . Place is more-than-physical and is imbued with emotional resonance: intimate, part of individuals’ everyday lives and movements. As users of the online forum r/COVID19_support, part of the wider reddit platform, moved in and out of this online place as part of their daily interactions with the COVID-19 pandemic, r/COVID19_support provided three different kinds of space that combined to make it a unique place for psychological support: a supportive community space, a knowledge space to ease anxieties, and a safe space from which the virus was excluded.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	The Psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Consequences
Editors	Emmanuel Janagan Johnson
Publisher	Cambridge Scholars
Chapter	9
Pages	155
Number of pages	179
Edition	1
ISBN (Electronic)	1-0364-6346-X
ISBN (Print)	1-0364-6345-1
Publication status	Published - 14 Sept 2026

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

COVID-19
Online forums
Pandemics
Behaviour

Access to Document

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-8382-1/Licence: Unspecified

4 Article
2 Chapter
1 Conference contribution

Identifying psychosocial support needs through social listening on internet discussion forums: a case study of r/COVID19_support
Balabaskaran, F. R., Jones-Gammon , A., How, R. & Cole, J., 7 Feb 2022, In: Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health. 10, 5, 16 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
Social science approaches to infodemiology: understanding the social, political, and economic context of information
Cole, J., Tulloch, O., Schimdt-Sane, M., Hrynick, T. & Ripoll, S., 11 Mar 2022, In: Global Health Promotion. 29, 3, p. 140-144 5 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File

34 Downloads (Pure)
r/Coronavirus and the Viral Pandemic: A source of truth, comfort and companionship during COVID19
Cole, J., van de Ven, C., Sharkey, C. M., Williamson, P., Doherty, P. & Robb, F., 13 May 2021, CHI EA '21: Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Kitamura, Y., Quigley, A., Isbister, K. & Igarashi, T. (eds.). NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), p. 1-6 6 p. 153
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Cite this

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title = "Safe Space During COVID-19: Online forums as places of community, knowledge exchange and safety",

abstract = "Place can broadly be defined as {\textquotedblleft}a space or location with meaning{\textquotedblright} . Place is more-than-physical and is imbued with emotional resonance: intimate, part of individuals{\textquoteright} everyday lives and movements. As users of the online forum r/COVID19\_support, part of the wider reddit platform, moved in and out of this online place as part of their daily interactions with the COVID-19 pandemic, r/COVID19\_support provided three different kinds of space that combined to make it a unique place for psychological support: a supportive community space, a knowledge space to ease anxieties, and a safe space from which the virus was excluded. ",

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A2 - Johnson, Emmanuel Janagan

PB - Cambridge Scholars

ER -

Safe Space During COVID-19: Online forums as places of community, knowledge exchange and safety

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Research output

Identifying psychosocial support needs through social listening on internet discussion forums: a case study of r/COVID19_support

Social science approaches to infodemiology: understanding the social, political, and economic context of information

r/Coronavirus and the Viral Pandemic: A source of truth, comfort and companionship during COVID19

Cite this