Lurker demographics: counting the silent
Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Persistence and Lurkers in Discussion Lists: A Pilot Study
HICSS '00 Proceedings of the 33rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences-Volume 3 - Volume 3
What Lurkers and Posters Think of Each Other
HICSS '04 Proceedings of the Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'04) - Track 7 - Volume 7
HICSS '04 Proceedings of the Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'04) - Track 7 - Volume 7
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI)
Non-public and public online community participation: Needs, attitudes and behavior
Electronic Commerce Research
Increasing participation in online communities: A framework for human-computer interaction
Computers in Human Behavior
Fostering empowerment in online support groups
Computers in Human Behavior
Relationship between the level of intimacy and lurking in online social network services
Computers in Human Behavior
An analysis of social support exchanges in online HIV/AIDS self-help groups
Computers in Human Behavior
Friendship: An old concept with a new meaning?
Computers in Human Behavior
"What's coming next?" Epistemic curiosity and lurking behavior in online communities
Computers in Human Behavior
Empowering processes within prostate cancer online support groups
International Journal of Web Based Communities
Moderated online social therapy: Designing and evaluating technology for mental health
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI)
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Computers in Human Behavior
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The proliferation of online support groups provides an opportunity for individuals living with HIV/AIDS to obtain support online. The present study aimed to explore how different levels of participation in online support groups are associated with empowering processes and outcomes for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. A total of 340 individuals living with HIV/AIDS were recruited. They completed an online questionnaire consisting of measures on satisfaction with online support groups, empowering processes, self-care self efficacy, loneliness, optimism, coping, depression, and health-related quality of life. Results revealed that compared to posters, members who only read the messages (lurkers) scored lower in receiving social support and receiving useful information in empowering processes, and lower in satisfaction with their relationship with group members. They also scored higher in distraction and lower in planning in the brief COPE. In addition, they scored lower in social function and higher in energy. There were no significant differences in self-care self efficacy, loneliness, depression, or optimism between posters and lurkers. Our results suggest that lurking in the online support groups may be as empowering as reading and posting messages to the groups. More research is needed to identify the long term effects of online support group use.