Practicum 7: Berenson, Online Support Groups

Practicum 7: Wikipedia Post/In Conclusion

When I Wikipedia-ed SPILL I originally thought that there wasn’t that much information, in fact, hardly any. However, after tweaking my search a bit I realized there was a pretty extensive description of SPILL listed under ‘Student SPILL.’

I decided to add a sentence or two about the Badger SPILL program at the UW.

I added, “Badger SPILL is an organization made up and for students who attend the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Originated on the UW campus in 2009, SPILL, a confidential online support system which stands for Supporting Peers In Laid Back Listening, is rapidly spreading to other campuses nation wide.”

In Conclusion:

Over the course of this Practicum I have investigated and discovered the potential of online support groups; initially starting out studying the iMedix community, I made the transition to a more focused study of www.spill now.com, a collegiate focused online forum dedicated to supporting UW Madison students and students in general. My discomfort surrounding the ethical implications of fabricating a mental illness to actively participate in an online community led me to SPILL, which encourages the discussion of any issue under the sun. Aside from the factor that SPILL was created by someone I had the pleasure of knowing, I found SPILL to be an innovative use of internet technologies, creating a national support system for collegiate everywhere. College is a huge transitional phase in a young adults life and it is fascinating how one person with a vision created a program that has touched so many. SPILL is multi faceted in the sense that it not only provides a successful and revolutionary counseling and online support outlet but SPILL also has the power to aggregate more accurate data about the health and habits of the student body that could allow universities to assist their student much more effectively. On a personal level I know every time I go to UHS they make you take a survey about drinking and other habits, which I almost always lie on. There is no chance that UHS is getting accurate statistical and ethnographic information about their students so long as they categorize survey question number seven of “having 4 or more alcoholic beverages in one evening” as “excessive binge drinking.” This is college people. Most schools like the UW annually set aside anywhere from $50,000-80,000 for preventative programming or student services used to purchase things like alcohol awareness programs or sexual assault intervention programs (www.uwpave.com). Especially in today’s economy with the UW cutting funding left and right it becomes more crucial than ever to allot funding appropriately. Because SPILL gives students a confidential forum to vent freely about their thoughts and frustrations, students can feel comfortable expressing and discussing their lives and Universities using SPILL can more accurately allot their funding and resources to catering to students’ real needs. In my humble opinion, Internet technologies that facilitate resources like SPILL create win-win situations that greatly benefit and give back to society.