I recently read a University press release on a psychological study recruiting students to treat social anxiety disorder among teens. Social anxiety is a mental disorder in which the individual has a difficult time adjusting in social situations, and the disorder affects about 15 percent of today’s youth. The study aims to make treatments for social anxiety more accessible by providing care via the Internet. I find this method of treatment rather odd, and I have trouble believing it will be an effective approach.
One of the main reasons for my skepticism is that treatment for social anxiety via the Internet is somewhat paradoxical. People often use the internet in isolated situations. In fact, the Internet can play a role in reinforcing social isolation. Research by the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society revealed that increased Internet usage can decrease social interaction by as much as 70 minutes a day. Moreover, people who have social anxiety disorder also have a tendency to engage in compulsive Internet use because the Internet allows them to avoid face-to-face interaction. Using the Internet to treat people who have trouble interacting with others thus seems contradictory. Granted, a 20-minute online treatment session will not probably not reinforce isolation of socially anxious people. But there is a contradiction between the treatment and the problem it seeks to solve.
Despite the fact that technology is slowly replacing traditional solutions, the treatment for social anxiety must involve human interaction. One of the most common treatments for social anxiety is therapy in which you face your fear regarding some specific social situation. For example, if you fear talking to strangers, you might be placed in a situation where you are forced to do exactly that to overcome your anxiety. This social element is crucial to overcoming social anxiety, yet an Internet approach to treatment does not include it.
One of the arguments made in favor of online treatment is that it allows people to seek treatment without drawing attention and perhaps social stigma for seeing a therapist and having a mental illness. An American Psychological Association article illustrates how the idea of a mental illness can affect people: in one example, students were asked to write if they have any history of mental illness on a standardized tests. Students who answered yes scored lower on the exam than students who did not have to disclose the information. People do not like the idea of mental illness, and having to go to a therapist means one has to accept that one has a mental illness. However, I think that this is an incorrect justification for online treatment. In fact, such a reasoning makes online treatment a way to skirt the issue of social anxiety. It would be more productive to tackle stigma involving mental illness.
Ultimately, I think online treatments for social anxiety prevent people from properly addressing their fears in social situations. Therefore, I am wary of viewing it as a viable source for long-term treatment. Perhaps online treatment can be an option in acute cases, but in order to face problems head-on, it has to be grounded in reality involving human interaction — rather than through a computer screen.
Fariha Kabir is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. Her columns run Wednesdays.
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