Online medical advice: differences in power and solidarity strategies in amateurs vs. professionals

The linguistic genre of seeking and receiving medical advice has long predated the phenomenon of Computer-Mediated Communication. However, now that it has entered the CMC domain, it is not only in the hands of professionals to offer ‘expertise’ on individuals’ medical issues.

The groups used in this comparative study are MedQuest, a LiveJournal based community in which laypersons can offer medical advice to those seeking it, and JustAnswer which only allows registered health professionals to give this advice.

In studying the language of the respective advisors in each group, the aim of this study is to investigate the hypothesis:

H1: Through their discourse, users in MedQuest will take a stance which mostly indicates solidarity with the advice seeker. Conversely, users giving advice in JustAnswer will instead assert their power as advice givers, instead of building solidarity.

This study takes the Hyperpersonal Model into account (Walther 1996, cited in Ballard-Reisch et al. 2011:70). This model suggests that due to the lack of communicative cues in CMC that are normally present in FtF interaction, participants can be selective in how they present themselves online (mainly via discourse). Therefore, both amateur and professional advisors would theoretically need to discursively construct these roles.

References:

Ballard-Reisch, D., Rozzell, B., Heldman, L., and Kamerer, D. (2011) Microchannels and CMC: short paths to developing, maintaining, and dissolving relationships. In: Wright, K. B., and Webb, L. M. eds. Computer-mediated communication in social relationships. New York: Peter Lang, pp. 56-78

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