Psychotherapy Trainees and Social Networking Use

摘要

Online social networking sites, such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, are changing the ways people interact with each other on a daily basis. These sites allow the user to convey massive amounts of personal information to anyone that can view his or her page. With this ability come questions applicable to prospective and current mental health professionals and their clients. What kinds of information are being passed on a daily basis and how many people can access that information? This study used a sample of Master's level psychotherapists in training to examine this question. It was found that a majority of the sample used Facebook, but that less than half of those allowed unrestricted access to the information on his or her page, and only a small minority of those students had questionable information available. These results are encouraging and appear to support the idea that graduate students are self-censoring what type of information they make available online. Nonetheless, education in graduate programs about the pros and cons of social networks, including how to enable settings to enhance privacy, should take place.