| This is a study of the ways in which individual and community biosocial identities are produced and negotiated by members of PatientsLikeMe.com's Mood Disorder Community. In particular, I explore how the cultivation of presence and persona on a social networking site mediates the formation of identity, community, and patienthood. Over the course of five months, I engaged in participant-observations on the site and collected forum threads, blog posts, and policy documents. I argue that practices of reflexivity are built into the website's interface -- particularly within profiles integrated with personal electronic health records (PEHRs). Members participate on the site to obtain informal social support and information in the form of personal experience. Members restrict their participation to protect their privacy and resist commodification of personal health information. User generated content on the site is intricately linked to practices of remembering and hope. |
