Formation of a supportive electronic community and process of its collapse : Examination based on the case of the “Hidamari"

エンジョテキ ナ デンシ コミュニティ ノ ケイセイ ト ホウカイ カテイ ヒダマリ ヲ ジレイ ト スル ケントウ

オガワ, アキコ

Ogawa, Akiko

オオサカ ダイガク ダイガクイン ニンゲン カガク ケンキュウカ タイジン シャカイ シンリガク ケンキュウシツ

WWW掲示板

援助行動

自助グループ

CMC

electronic community

WWW bulletin board

support activities

self-help group

The purpose of this study is to clarify the process of forming supportive functions in a self-help group, with a focus on electronic communities. The case of a WWW bulletin board for people who needed to take care of their elder family members were the object of study, and there were a total of 7,162 messages posted over 44 months on the board. As a result, it was clarified that in the electronic community, empathetic messages based on homogeneity of the community members formed a community of having a strong sense of belonging. Supportive activities in the electronic communities were often provided by a cooperative relationship -- a so-called virtual team --, and it sometimes produced not only emotional supports but also instrumental supports requiring a face-to-face relationship. Overall, the effectiveness of forming a self-help group in the electronic community was revealed. However, it was also suggested that an opportunity of face-to-face communication among the community members, called an "Off meeting," enhanced the heterogeneity and brought the risk of collapse of the community.