Leung Phil Wai Shun, Li Shirley Xin, Holroyd Eleanor Anne, Tsang Carmen Sze Oi, Wong William Chi Wai
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Haven of Hope Christian Service, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2023 Jun 30;14:959846. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.959846. eCollection 2023.
Autistic people are vulnerable to developing mental health problems due to their difficulties in managing social situations and interpersonal relationships. The popular online social media (OSM) can be a potential solution to these concerns for their social lives as it allows non-face-to-face social interactions, however it remained unclear how this group is using these online platforms. This study explored their experiences of using online social media, and their perceived benefits and risks associated with this use.
Qualitative data was collected through in-depth face to face interviews. We recruited 13 autistic young adults who were with normal intelligence from two community centers in Hong Kong. Interviews were conducted in a semi-structured format by experienced clinical psychologist and social workers.
Four themes were identified from the data, namely: (1) Paradox of using OSM to supplement social needs; (2) Unpleasant social interactions in the online environment; (3) Restricted and repetitive pattern of interest leading to troubles in OSM use, and; (4) Privacy and personal safety issues. The results suggested that while OSM could be a useful tool for our participants to connect with existing friends and to meet new ones, their limitations, such as difficulties in understanding languages and social interaction as well as restricted patterns of interests could potentially put them at risk, including interpersonal conflicts, cyber-bullying, financial scams, as well as unwanted sexual experiences. These experiences not only paradoxically increased their sense of loneliness and their distance from others, but also resulted in a negative impact on their mood and functioning.
This qualitative study provided some insights into the OSM use among autistic young adults. OSM could be a useful tool to overcome potential limitations in social interactions, but at the same time it could potentially bring detrimental consequences. In order to maximize the benefits of online social networking, there is a need for timely guidance and support to use OSM among autists, and for psychoeducation to promote awareness, and enable adequate skills and behaviors attainment associated with safe OSM use.
自闭症患者由于在处理社交场合和人际关系方面存在困难，容易出现心理健康问题。流行的在线社交媒体（OSM）可能是解决他们社交生活中这些问题的潜在方案，因为它允许非面对面的社交互动，然而，目前尚不清楚该群体如何使用这些在线平台。本研究探讨了他们使用在线社交媒体的经历，以及他们认为与这种使用相关的益处和风险。
通过深入的面对面访谈收集定性数据。我们从香港的两个社区中心招募了13名智力正常的自闭症青年成人。访谈由经验丰富的临床心理学家和社会工作者以半结构化形式进行。
从数据中识别出四个主题，即：（1）使用OSM补充社交需求的悖论；（2）在线环境中不愉快的社交互动；（3）兴趣受限和重复模式导致OSM使用困难，以及；（4）隐私和个人安全问题。结果表明，虽然OSM对我们的参与者来说可能是与现有朋友联系和结识新朋友的有用工具，但他们的局限性，如理解语言和社交互动的困难以及兴趣模式受限，可能会使他们面临风险，包括人际冲突、网络欺凌、金融诈骗以及不必要的性经历。这些经历不仅自相矛盾地增加了他们的孤独感和与他人的距离感，还对他们的情绪和功能产生了负面影响。
这项定性研究为自闭症青年成人使用OSM提供了一些见解。OSM可能是克服社交互动中潜在限制的有用工具，但同时也可能带来有害后果。为了最大限度地发挥在线社交网络的益处，需要及时为自闭症患者提供使用OSM的指导和支持，并进行心理教育以提高认识，使他们能够获得与安全使用OSM相关的适当技能和行为。
