How do we know?

How do we know who we are talking to here at PC?

A worry that crops up in my mind is that there may be researchers, psych students, psychologists etc posing as having mental health difficulties here in order to collect data. Are we all lab rats here? Being experimented on.

Sometimes I'll read a post and 'feel' that the poster is just trying to get a reaction so they can write it down in a little black book. X-person has x-disorder and reacted this way.

Am I being paranoid? Or is this a well-founded fear? I guess even if there were people doing experiments on us here, it wouldn't really matter? I don't know, I just want it to feel safe on the internet. Might be asking too much...

Hey....Pegasus.....

I...would....be....more....inclined....to...saying....slightly....paranoid.....I.....understand....what....you...mean...though....and...can...say.....I....am...curious....too...about...who...we...are...talking...to!

(sorry...for...the...dots...space...bar...isn't...working...

Hey Pegs,

I often think like this too, I even sometimes think that my therapist reads my posts, I do get paranoid at times

i've thought of this too... who knows who is reading this.

50 people i know personally, someone who worked at a hospital i've been too.. who knows.

but when i think like that, i try to remember that you never know really who you are talking to online.

thing with the internet is, you can be who ever you want- and no one would even know any diffrent.

I wonder too. But it doesnt really bother me. I do like the fact you can be whoever you want to be and can be free. I guess thats the whole point.

I try to give the best advice I can and I see what you are saying about people who try to get a reaction out of us or try to act funny when they are really not.

Almost mocking us?

Hmm.

I wonder.....good thread and question though

Can't these forums be set as private to guests?

I think the forums need to be public so that people can find it.

this has never really crossed my mind, and if it has,then only briefly. i guess my reaction is... so what? if anyone is analyzing us, it would only be for their own personal analysis. but i do live by the general notion that most ppl have good intentions, and from my experience here at PC, I think most of the ppl here are just looking to give and get support. i have no reason to doubt anyone here (yet) and so i am going to deal with it when it comes and not worry about what may or may not be, especially since it is not in my control.

Exactly Miswimmy, you've hit the nail on the head. A lot of my anxiety (esp when I was younger) revolved around my environment, or things that I could not control. If there are psych students and psychologists on here gathering data, that's okay because they can use the information to help someone else down the line. So I figure that it could be a good thing.

Doesn't the thought of that make you feel uncomfortable though?

Yes, I can't deny that. Not to get off topic, but I have had the experience of being the "lab rat" twice IRL, with 2 completely different outcomes. It's taught me that good Ts don't just drop out of the sky. They are human and have to learn just like we do, so the good tends to outweigh the bad. Hope that made sense.

No it doesn't... It is a waste of time and energy to worry about that because u have no control over it. What if someone is? What are u going to do about it? I would rather spend my time and energy trying to help ppl on here who are on here for the purpose of the site: to give and get info. Life's to short to worry about ppl who aren't in our control

Truthfully I have never really thought about it either. I generally can get a sense if someone is being truthful or not after talking to them for a while. And if it's just psych students then that's fine with me. And if someone is pretending to be someone or something else, then I guess that's a whole other problem. But more their problem than mine I guess... It doesn't really bother me I guess, but that's not to say you are wrong if it bothers you. We all have different reactions to different things...

pegasus

I think about it all the time too.

no wonder I have so few posts for being as long as I have. (again!) I come here and read 6-7(sometimes 10-12) times a week- most times the angst of someone studying what I say or finding out where I'm located keeps my lips sealed-- or..... should I say "typing fingers still"

fins

that's a good point. I guess that's why I don't let it worry me too much if someone starts to wind me up - I can always make the excuse, how do I know they aren't just trying to wind me up on purpose? which btw is something my family would do, so I am susceptible to it, and maybe overly suspicious of it. so I try to remember the guidelines and just take care of myself. OTOH, as long as you're not getting caught up in something? i've been in experiments, and they usually need to be much more controlled than this to have any validity. So there wouldn't really be a point. Cuz how would you know that the person you think you're taking notes on, isn't taking YOU for a ride? So, I wouldn't worry.

i've thought about it ...... but at the same time; any data they collected would be very unreliable since they also don't know who it is that is really replying to them, lots of uncertainty out there

I think thats an excellent question and I love everyone here can be honest and open and safe that the net result here is good because of the goodness thats cranked into it. Yes I may say or think a foolish thing and thus be exposed to all here but then it is the mask of anonymity that protects me.. and the hope that however foolish the thing isay might entertain the mocking it might yet help one sincere one

I have thought about this too. I hope if someone is studying me they would give me some answers as to how to fix me! Or maybe somewhere down the road it may help someone else which is fine with me. As to people being dishonest...that is their problem. I believe we have to take some chances in life and being here talking to people is one I am willing to take. Hopefully either way I can learn and get some good out of being here.

Oooooh don't tell me that! I'm already paranoid as it is. Frick! Not cool!

I sincerely doubt that anyone would be able to get any good "controlled" information from a site like PC. In order to do any kind of research, there has to be an element of control in that research in order for it to be successful.

The only information a researcher would have here is what someone says on the internet. That would bring so much into question that any kind of research would be null and void. What a waste of time for them to do that.

Are there folks here trying to learn about certain illnesses and/or disorders, sure there are. Is that a bad thing? Heck no. That's why I came to PC back in 2005 as I was beginning to work with some mentally disabled and ill folks. I wanted to learn as much as I could so that I could help them, not hurt them. And look at me now! Don't many of us want to have more informed members of society learn about what we go through and how we deal with life so that we aren't in a fish bowl anymore?

I think it's good that we question ourselves as to what we are putting on the internet. What goes on the internet, stays on the internet. We should be mindful of who knows our username, who knows where we live, etc. Keeping yourself safe on the internet is of high importance to each of us. Knowing that we cannot control everyone or everything and then finding a way to work within that knowledge is what is key.

Personal research here is fine....we all have someone in our lives that mental illness touches. Asking questions of how members deal with those illnesses is a good thing. We want people to be educated about mental illness.

I'm not the one you responded to, but I just want to sympathize with you...same thing happened to me several years ago. I started typing a period in-between every word and spacing words that began sentences with three or four dots in-between. It's annoying, but you actually get used to typing like that. Hope you get your space bar fixed soon, or a new computer.

I agree with the Admin; there is no "control" panel here, so to speak, so any "data" would be inaccurate. Doesn't necessarily quiet the questions, though, understandably.

I too have wondered this, though....for me it's been, "What if someone on here I'm talking to knows me or finds out they know me?" Which is why I don't share a lot of specific details (location, age, etc.). I've always had natural paranoia of some kind. Anonymity works for me....it's a reassurance.

LiveThroughThis: completely agree. Personal opinion is if they are researching, more fool them - people react COMPLETELY differently on the internet to in reality...

That goes with the territory, people can create a completely fake identity with the internet. I can be a bit naive sometimes and take everyone at their face value. Sometimes I stop myself and think. This person can post any pic, create fake identities and I never think twice. So, basically just be careful. i think its natural for females to feel more cautious for obvious reasons. i actually think it would be awesome if a legit psychopharmacologist came on the med boards!

I would love to supply helpful data for research, but the setting of this site simply is not conducive to it AT ALL.