“I feel like I've hit the bottom and have no idea what to do”: Supportive social networking on Reddit for individuals with a desire to quit cannabis use

ABSTRACT

Background: Online communities can provide social support to those in need and can foster personal empowerment for individuals experiencing distress. This study examines the content of a Reddit community dedicated to the support of people trying to quit using cannabis, in order to develop an understanding of the type of social networking occurring on this subreddit (e.g., community). Methods: A total of 100 Reddit posts and their replies (i.e., comments) were collected from the subreddit on June 12, 2015. Posts were qualitatively coded for expression of DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) symptoms of cannabis use disorder (CUD) as well as other prominently featured themes. Comments on posts where individuals were seeking support/advice were also coded. Results: Ninety-one people posted the 100 Reddit posts, and of those 35 (38%) people described enough symptoms to be classified as mild disorder severity, 15 (16%) moderate, and 11 (12%) severe, as outlined in the diagnostic criteria for CUD. Over half of posts (n = 51) were seeking advice and/or support from members of the community. There were 174 comments made by 108 unique people on the advice/support seeking posts. Most were supportive/encouraging in nature (140, 80%) and gave advice to the post author (126, 72%). Conclusions: This exploratory research highlights the potential of online communities as tools for individuals coping with addiction recovery, and future research should investigate if involvement in such communities would be a beneficial supplement to more traditional recovery practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Cannabis abuse
• cannabis smoking
• social media

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Washington University School of Medicine research assistant, Nina Kaiser, for her assistance coding the Reddit posts.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Funding

This publication was supported by the Washington University in St. Louis Young Scientist Program, the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences grant UL1 TR000448 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as the National Institutes of Health (grants R01DA032843 and R01DA039455 to P.A.C.-R.). None of the funding sources had any role in the study design; collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data; writing of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the paper for publication.

Author contributions

Ms. Sowles led the acquisition of the data, analyses, interpretation of results, and manuscript writing. Ms. Krauss contributed to interpretation of results and critical revisions to the manuscript. Ms. Gebremedhn participated in the acquisition of the data, coding of Reddit posts, and drafting the manuscript. Dr. Cavazos-Rehg provided mentoring on all aspects of the project, including the study design, acquisition of the data, analyses, interpretation of results, and revisions to the manuscript.