St.

Paul University at San Miguel

(A Branch of St. Paul University Quezon City)
Salangan, San Miguel Bulacan
BASIC EDUCATION
(PAASCU Accredited)

Student name: Julianna Vicente Santos

1.Proposal Title/Topic: EFFECTIVENESS OF OPEN FORUMS AS A SAFE PLACE IN

UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL ANXIETY

2. My core Question: How does open forums online help to be a safe space for people
accessing it?

3.My Goal(s) for this Research:

 Create an open forums online that will be beneficial for people concerning mental health.
 Helps individuals to feel more secured in their environment.

Related literature

What effect do internet communication regulations have? I observed that throughout

the safe community, members deleted a markedly high number of statements, and writers
removed their own replies more frequently, showing high rates of self-censorship. This article
analyzes almost half a million internet comments over a 14-month period from two online
Reddit forums that were paired in subject and size but had different moderation regulations of
"safe community" and "freedom of speech." By focusing only on very infrequent posters, I
found that discussions about recreational activities and good language differed in the free and
secure communication spaces, where material personal concerns like jobs, income, and life are
much more commonly dragged up.

The traditional lifestyle has been seriously affected by the unexpected coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic, and mental wellbeing treatment is not exempted. The condition of anxiety in
teenagers, which relies mainly on exposure to social situations with friends, elders, or even
other fear-inducing cues, has particular challenges as a result of higher anxiety, a lack of social
opportunities, and the shift to telemedicine treatment delivery. The goal of this commentary is
to give guidance to practitioners able to treat anxious teenagers on how to continue providing
behavioral therapy in an acceptable and real-proof manner in the midst of these uncommon
conditions. We first present a general overview of how COVID-19 might affect children and
adolescents with anxiety in particular, highlighting the importance of continuing to provide
exposure treatments during this time.

With a focus on involving young men, the primary objective was to determine the acceptance,
viability, and personal protection of a new digital treatment (Entourage) for young people with
significant symptoms of social anxiety. The second goal was to assess if the treatment was
related to clinically significant changes in understanding of clinical variables that are shown to
be associated with anxiety problems.

A "safe space" is an environment wherein people can speak openly on specific subjects and give
help to each other, whether it is in person or over the phone. People are feeling protected in
safer areas since they are surrounded by a society of compassion and understanding where
don't notice abuse, bullying, or other kinds of emotional or physical violence. Anyone who
wishes to be acknowledged about personal feelings, thoughts, or ideas, or even about topics
such as sexuality, gender, or condition, can do so in a safe environment.
Safe spaces are places where individuals can go anywhere they feel is allowed and not
acceptable. People are usually informed, pulled off, or banned if these rules are not followed.

A discussion is a community on the internet where conversations can be had As opposed to a

discussion forum, facilitating conversations over time, as opposed to information being shared
through rapid repetition Furthermore, on online media platforms, conversational
internet discussion is mainly centred on a specific concept, company, or fan group. Usually,
internet forums are organized into a number of topics, in which people may share
their questions or conversation topics and relate to each other. A site discussion forum provides
lots of both the people that actually participate and the companies that choose to incorporate
as part of the site.

References:
 Gibson, A. (2019). Free Speech and Safe Spaces: How Moderation Policies
Shape Online Discussion Spaces. Social Media + Society, 5(1),
205630511983258. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119832588

 Khan, A. N., Bilek, E., Tomlinson, R. C., & Becker-Haimes, E. M. (2021). Treating
Social Anxiety in an Era of Social Distancing: Adapting Exposure Therapy for
Youth During COVID-19. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 28(4).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2020.12.002
 Rice, S., O’Bree, B., Wilson, M., McEnery, C., Lim, M. H., Hamilton, M., Gleeson,
J., Bendall, S., D’Alfonso, S., Russon, P., Valentine, L., Cagliarini, D., Howell, S.,
Miles, C., Pearson, M., Nicholls, L., Garland, N., Mullen, E., McGorry, P. D., &
Alvarez-Jimenez, M. (2020). Leveraging the social network for treatment of
social anxiety: Pilot study of a youth-specific digital intervention with a focus
on engagement of young men. Internet Interventions, 20, 100323.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2020.100323
 Finding a Safe Space Online - Foundry. (2021, June 4). Foundry -.
https://foundrybc.ca/stories/finding-a-safe-space-online/

 Hicks, K. (2020, October 8). Online Forums: Benefits and Best Practices.
HostGator.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hostgator.com/blog/online-forums-
benefits-best-practices/amp/