Responsible use of the website
Dear community,
While moderating the depression support chat room a very Interestingtopic came up that we usually steer away from mentioning.Is 7cups a negative influence on your life?.Some members mentioned that the amount of time they were spending on the site speaking to other members and listening got in the way of social events and meeting offline friends,as well as meaning that they didn't so much address their issues on a practical level but rather just discussed them so the key here is BALENCE.On a listener level we often talk about 'self care' but I rarely see this mentioned on the member side so my question is how can we make sure that the site is used responsibly eg.How many hours should be spent on site ? (A rough idea) , how can we balance the use of the site with offsite activities,we can support each other but I do not believe we can be each other's sole support system.But I would love to know if you are struggling with this or have overcome it ???? And if anyone has any ideas on how the site can be used more responsibly by the majority of members :) Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks Miracle for bringing up this issue.
As much as I like this site, I am afraid that I am being engaged on this site more than I should. The first thing I do when I wake up is , I check my 7cupsoftea member's account and such. I know it's my own choice that I do so, and I don't blame the site for it. But, if there were any regulatory system that might have helped. :) Like not more than 10 chats a day or not more than 2-4 hours on chatroom and so. :)
Another member pointed out to me that this internet addiction phenomena is very common and there're many social interactive sites where people can get bit addicted and we really should not be concerned about this for this site too.
But, I think asthis is an emotional support application/website(not a social networking site like facebook or such), one might/should take these points in consideration as well. :)
There seems to be a conflict of interest in this, because the site owner has clearly made this a for-profit site, although the advertising is minimal and non-intrusive. So it is in the capitalist interests of the economic owners to make the site as addictive as possible for repeat revisits, new members, content, like this, and so on. That's my 2 cents.
However, I might add, that this is a particularly socially responsible venture, in my observation. Therefore, it might be helpful for a page to be added on healthy use of the site, internet addiction dangers and so on, in order to be corporately socially responsible to users in this regard.
Miracle let me first express how I appreciate your efforts in this site and how you are very wise and kind enough to spend time helping ppl like me. I know we have only chatted twice but I was so blessed bcuz u gave me hours from ur time which I really appreciate. Also thanks a lot for the great sites u have suggested on me which is very useful and i still use it till now. Also I to thank u for ur wise posts in the forums . U r amazing person. And to be honest yes I'm becoming addicted to this site but it is better than other lame chat sites which always get u involved in sexual talks. and much better than checking other social media sites where u only find ur self checking ppl clothes events life and which is very lame! So the bottom line I'd rather to be addicted to this site rather than other un useful sites which makes me feel more depressed.
I use this as a support system in between sessions with my therapist (every other week) and my weekly support group. While I talk with friends about some issues, the deepest & most intimate ones I don't feel comfortable sharing with them. Thank you for the wonderful support system here.
Wow Ak you are a member since 2013 it is very nice that u have witnessed all the changes in the site. I'm u r working hard on ur self. Im too :)