JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The modern omnipresence of social media and social networking sites (SNS) brings with it a range of important research questions. One of these concerns the impact of SNS use on mental health and wellbeing; a question that has been pursued in depth by scholars in the psychological sciences and the field of human-computer interaction. Despite this attention, the design choices made in the development of SNS and the notion of wellbeing employed to evaluate such systems require further scrutiny. In this paper we examine the strategic design choices made in developing an enclosed SNS for young people experiencing mental ill-health; in terms of ethical, persuasive design and in terms of how it fosters wellbeing. In doing so, we come to critique the understanding of wellbeing that is used in much of the existing literature to make claims about the impact of a given technology on wellbeing. We also demonstrate how the holistic concept of eudaimonic wellbeing and ethical design of SNS can complement one another.