Impact Of Web Sites For The "Delusional" Examined

There's a semi-interesting article in today's New York Times on people, reportedly delusional, who've found aid and comfort via Internet groups that support their views of mind control and gang stalking. Having dealt with a few of these sorts over the years--they have a habit of showing up at newspaper offices and demanding that reporters investigate X or Y group that is following them--this strikes me as a rather benign activity, certainly no more harmful than some of the extreme political discussions or sci-fi discussions or role playing groups on the Net.

But some find cause for concern:

"Dr. Ralph Hoffman, a psychiatry professor at Yale who studies delusions, said a growing number of his research subjects have told him of visiting mind-control sites, and finding in them confirmation of their own experiences.

"'The views of these belief systems are like a shark that has to be constantly fed,' Dr. Hoffman said. 'If you don’t feed the delusion, sooner or later it will die out or diminish on its own accord. The key thing is that it needs to be repetitively reinforced.'"

OK, if that's the best the author can offer to support the "oh so scary" thesis, then we have nothing to fear at all. You have to wonder what prompted the article in the first place, as in is there a news hook here at all.

Vaughan Bell, a UK psychologist and author the Mind Hacks blog, offers:

"Dr. Bell and some other mental health professionals say that even if the users of such sites are psychotic, forging an online connection to others and being told — perhaps for the first time — 'you are not crazy' could actually have a positive effect on their illnesses.

"'We know, for example, that things like social support, all of these positive social aspects are very good for people’s mental illness,' Dr. Bell said. 'I wouldn’t say it’s entirely and completely positive, but it can be positive.'"

And:

"'These people lead quietly desperate lives,' said Dr. Jeffrey A. Lieberman, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. 'And if they are reinforcing each other and pulling people toward something, if they are using the Internet and getting reinforcement, that’s good.'"

Anyway, an interesting slice of where the Net is taking our culture, even our more extreme elements.

It all sort of reminds me of this group of people who once pestered the hell out of newspaper I worked at. They were believers in "chemtrails," or the belief that the government was seeding the sky with chemicals to keep Americans under control. I couldn't deal with these folks at all but mentioned it to a colleague of mine who got one of the best features out of it that I've ever read. It's still good reading today. Enjoy.