by Edward QuinnPeople with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty with face-to-face social interactions, and this can have negative consequences for overall well-being. Social networking sites (SNS) offer a platform for interaction that is more comfortable for people with ASD, and has the potential to enhance both online and offline relationships. Mazurek (2013) investigates patterns of social media use among people with ASD and tests for relationships with friendships (quality and quantity) and loneliness.
In a sample of 108 adults diagnosed with ASD, Mazurek (2013) finds that about 80% of the participants use SNS, mostly for purposes of social connection (rather than business, entertainment, etc). Mazurek (2013) finds that those who use SNS are more likely to have close friends, and that ASD adults who use SNS specifically for social connection have closer friendships. Interestingly, the use of SNS was not related to feelings of loneliness. Instead, the quality and quantity of offline friendships was associated with loneliness. Greater numbers and quality of offline friendships were negatively associated with loneliness. Surprisingly, SNS use was not related to offline friendship. This finding runs counter to the notion that SNS have a positive effect on social engagement (in real life). A number of limitations are discussed by the author, including online recruitment, which may have biased the sample towards greater numbers of SNS users. The data are cross-sectional, and causality cannot be determined. Also, the gender of the sample was evenly split, which is not an accurate reflection of the ASD population. There are roughly four men with ASD for every woman with ASD. Despite the limitations, there is a lot of value in this study. This is a first look at social media use in adults with ASD. From a basic science point of view, it is illuminating to understand the use of SNS and their effects in typically developing people and in people with ASD. Though Mazurek (2013) did not use a control group, she does compare her findings to literature on social media in the broader population, and it appears that the patterns of social media use in the broader population hold in this sample of people with ASD. Another reason this study is important is that it has potential clinical relevance. Given the high levels of engagement with computers by people with ASD, it may be a tempting platform for intervention. This study suggests that any positive effects of SNS on the social lives of people with ASD will work through effects on offline social networks. ASD interventions would benefit greatly from the type of ethnographic work that Brezis (2012) presents in her chapter. If we subscribe to the idea that a lack of self-understanding is central to ASD, it means that any intervention should be evaluated in terms of its ability to improve self-understanding and self-expression. Social media sites seem like perfect mediums to facilitate such activities, and may be an important testing ground for Brezis' (2012) suggestion that people with ASD might benefit from scaffolding (or outright appropriation of narratives) in self-expression. Social media provides a myriad of tools for self-expression, and it would be interesting to see if these help people with ASD to build an understanding of themselves that enables better social interaction and communication. References Mazurek, M. O. (2013). Social media use among adults with autism spectrum disorders. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 1709-1714. Brezis, R. (2012). Autism as a Case for Neuroanthropology: Delineating the Role of Theory of Mind in Religious Development. In Lende, D. H & Downey, G. Eds. The Encultured Brain: An Introduction to Neuroanthropology. (pp. 291-314). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
6 Comments
Jake Aronoff
4/19/2016 04:23:38 pm
I also thought of the relevance of this article to the construction and expression of the self for individuals with ASD, though from a slightly different angle. Brezis (2012) notes the potential benefit of incorporating fictional characters through movies, books, or games that individuals with ASD can then parallel as they learn self-construction and expression. Along with social network sites, it would be interesting to examine video games that provide online communities, such as World of Warcraft, as individuals can negotiate their self-construction and expression with a created character that they control.
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Jake Aronoff (2nd Post)
4/29/2016 03:13:27 pm
I found our discussion of the relevance of agency during class very interesting. Moving away from the college smoking environment and into a more constant sense of agency, I think the chapter on autism presents some interesting and different perspectives on senses of agency among the individuals studied. This contrast among these individuals regarding the amount of agency they feel they have is interesting, as it further drives home the point of variability among those with autism. For example, while one individual expressed little to no sense of agency, and instead attributed every event to God's doing, another clearly felt a stronger sense of agency, almost trying to control God through deals regarding religious practice adherence in exchange for desires being met.
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Paige Ridley
4/20/2016 10:52:57 am
I find this article very interesting. In the very first sentence of your review you mention that people who have ASD suffer have difficulty with face to face interaction. I am not sure how much you know about Dr. Temple Grandin. She is a professor at Colorado State University, She has ASD. Last summer I had the privilege of sitting next to her on an airplane headed to Indiana for the National FFA Convention. I was excited to talk to her as I had heard her speak several times in the past. But that plane ride was nothing like I thought it would be. I was informed that speaking to large group on a stage was not an issue but having to carry on a conversation face to face was out of her comfort zone. With that being said that was on the quietest plane rides that I have encountered. Not another word was exchanged and yet I marveled at the fact that I was sitting next to a legend.
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Paige Ridley
4/26/2016 09:50:07 pm
In class we really broke down this study piece by piece. Edward mentioned that this given article did not have a single control group. I was shocked as I thought almost all studies that are conducted in fact have a control group. Because this one did not I really conveyed how important it is to have a control group when trying to conduct research in order to have supporting evidence or to even be able to restructure the experiment in order to get better results.
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Edward Quinn (2nd Response)
4/28/2016 07:13:46 pm
We discussed this article at length in class. I think one of the issues that could have been discussed more explicitly is an issue that was brought up in one of the films we watched in class. What should the goal of an intervention for people with ASD be? Amelioration? Or the complete absence of symptomatology? My original thought when posting this article was that social media might help to alleviate some of the social stressors associated with face-to-face interaction, not that the use of social media might make symptoms of ASD go away. It became clear in class discussion that not everyone shared this view. The goal of intervention strategies should be discussed at the outset, and the values and judgments that are attached to those goals need to be carefully considered. It seems like an appreciation of neurodiversity combined with efforts to ameliorate symptomatology offers greater hope for a fulfilling life for those people with ASD than a biomedical, "corrective" model of treating ASD.
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8/5/2021 02:41:35 am
i like this article, Autism or autism is one of the disorders belonging to a group of developmental disorders called in the medical language Autism Spectrum Disorders - ASD, it appears in infancy, often before the child reaches the age of three years.thanks for sharing
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AuthorThis blog is group authored by Dr. DeCaro and the students in his ANT 474/574: Neuroanthropology. Archives
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