New research published by the American Psychological Association shows that blogging has psychological benefits for teens suffering from social anxiety.
The study’s lead author, Meyran Boniel-Nissin from the University of Haifa, says that “writing about distress in itself, even without audience interaction, generates desired changes in participants. Although social feedback is an important factor in causing change in bloggers, the very writing has its own value, thus supporting the arguments and replicating the findings pertaining to the therapeutic value of traditional expressive writing.”
A new blog, We Have to Make It, is a good example of a teen writing for therapeutic reasons, although in this case for depression.
From the home page:
“I’m 16 & I battle with depression. I guess I made this blog to make myself better and give others hope… for them to know they aren’t alone. I play basketball, love gaming, music and, I actually like to write…when I’m in the mood :) I sometimes post random things to make people smile lol.”
I really like this blog. It expresses hope and optimism, it is personal but not self-absorbed, and it is well written. I wish more teens would write, and not just for Facebook.
Visit We Have to Make It to read more. The full blogging study by Meyran Boniel-Nissin can be downloaded as a PDF.