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Munchausen by Internet
... Unfortunately, these changes are not only positive: researchers have found a new syndrome named "virtual factitious disorder" or "Munchausen by internet" [32]. These patients pretend to have online disorders to gain attention, gather sympathy, display anger, or control others with different motivations and consciousness [33]. ...
... In the last decades, the literature showed how the advent of the Internet and social media has had positive consequences in various domains [30,31,34]. Unfortunately, these consequences are not only positive; there is also evidence that people could experience negative effects and consequences as a result of the use of social media, such as the emergence of new disorders related to the online world (e.g., [32]) or the worsening of previously existing conditions (e.g., [39]), such as OCD symptoms. Indeed, people with OCD showed different types of symptoms on social media. ...
Social media (SM) are the new standard for social interaction and people with OCD use such platforms like everyone else. However, the research on these individuals provides limited, sporadic, and difficult-to-generalize data outside of social-media evidence for one specific context concerning how SM is experienced by people with OCD. Our cross-sectional study involved 660 participants (71.4% females, 28.6% males) with 22% of the sample surpassing the 90° percentile threshold to be identified as high-level OCD-symptomatic individuals. Our work highlighted that roughly all OCD types are affected by social media in terms of mood and that these individuals appeared to give SM more importance than non-OCD individuals. The evidence presented, although very narrow, can be conceived as the first building blocks to encourage future research considering how individuals with OCD experience social media, since they appear to be affected more by them compared to non-OCD individuals.
... But some healthy individuals have tried to gain attention and followers through advancing a fictional online narrative of sickness. In 2000, Dr. Marc Feldman coined the term "Munchausen by Internet" (Feldman 2000) to describe the conduct of those who, instead of repeat and serial hospital visits, could now gain their needed gratification through a new audience among online support group members. Cases of Munchausen by Internet (as opposed to MSBP or Factitious Disorder imposed on another (FDIA) by Internet) were increasingly identified by online users in support groups for eating disorders, cancers and pregnancy, and have attracted the interest of researchers with roughly 24 case studies being reported in the literature (Lawlor 2018, 4). ...
Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA), termed a psychiatric “Factitious disorder by proxy”, compels individuals to solicit unnecessary medical interventions or commit medical abuses on another, almost always a child in their care. A recent phenomenon is that of individuals with FDIA using social media such as blogs and online support groups to perpetuate such abuse, while garnering sympathy from others who access these sites. Through an examination of several recent high profile FDIA by Internet cases and using the concept of “neo-tribes’ to identify the virtual communities of interest that form around these cases, new dimensions of FDIA appear. Fabrication of medical and social histories is facilitated and consolidated in the virtual sphere and readily enhanced through imagery and careful documentation. Betrayed communities experience exploitation and fraud. However, child neglect and child endangerment remain of concern, and identifying and investigating such claims across physical jurisdictions remain significant challenges for law enforcement.
... Society remains in a state of technological flux with concomitant uncertainties and thus risks of future-anxiety (Zalesky, 1999). We saw the rise of phenomena like Munchausen's by Internet before the end of the last century (Feldman, 2000) and deleterious effects, like Internet-enabled suicide and self-harm (Dunlop, More, & Romer, 2011), are likely to continue to emerge. Practitioners who are not used to the disinhibition typical of many forms of technologically mediated communication are likely to be taken by surprise and can leave their clients and colleagues in difficult, even unsafe, situations. ...
This paper explores the recent phenomenon of adolescents presenting en masse (both online and in clinical settings) with symptoms seemingly acquired from viewing illness-related content posted by social media influencers. The most frequently reproduced illnesses have included Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and Tourette Syndrome. It discusses evidence that the recent spate of new-onset, severe tics are a form of Mass Psychogenic Illness facilitated by social media networks (a phenomenon labeled Mass Social Media Induced Illness). It then suggests that many of those self-diagnosed with DID may be manifesting a similar, technologically-facilitated conversion phenomenon. It then explores another explanatory model: that these simulacra of DID and Tourette Syndrome may also arise via a mechanism more closely resembling social media facilitated Factitious Disorder. Similar presentations, of individuals falsifying cancer, have previously been labeled Munchausen's by Internet. It then proposes an overarching construct, Social Media Associated Abnormal Illness Behavior (SMAAIB), that is agnostic regarding phenomenology. Within this framework, it explores the ways in which de-commodifying attention, connection and care (measured once in appointments and admissions, now in 'likes' and 'shares') and obtaining a full picture of the patient's psychological, sociological and cultural grounding can offer deeper understanding and ultimately a path to wellness.
Sympathy sockpuppets are false online identities used for purposes of extracting care work from others. While online community infiltration for nefarious purposes is a well-documented phenomenon, people may also join online communities using deceptive personas (“sockpuppet” accounts) for non-nefarious reasons, such as to gain sympathy or cultivate a sense of belonging in a group. In comparison with scamming and trolling, this more subtle form of online deception is not well understood, and to date, its impacts on individuals and communities have not been fully articulated. This knowledge gap leaves communities without guidance when managing the impacts of this sympathy sockpuppet deception. We interviewed people who had been members of online communities that discovered sympathy sockpuppets in their midst to explore and characterize the phenomenon of sympathy sockpuppetry and to provide guidance for other individuals and communities that encounter similar forms of online deception.
Factitious disorders (FD) like Munchausen syndrome are well known to most physicians, yet the corresponding ICD-10 diagnosis F68.1 remains severely under-assigned and often misdiagnosed. To approach this problem, we conducted a nationwide inquiry for Germany and Norway as well as a comparison between these two countries regarding the incidence of diagnosis of FD. The assignment rates of F68.1 in somatic hospitals from 2008 to 2016 were analyzed based on the Diagnosis Related Groups statistic from the German Federal Statistical Office and the data provided from the Norwegian Patient Registry. The Norwegian data also included information on individual patients whereas the German data only contained the total number of F68.1 assignment due to strict medical confidentiality laws. The incidence of the diagnosis of FD in Germany and Norway showed similar assignment rates with 3.71 and 3.18 per 100,000, respectively. The mean age was 39.4 years for German patients and 35.6 years for Norwegian patients. The gender distribution was almost equal for the individual patients’ rate (49% female and 51% male). Furthermore, our results indicate that female patients with FD tend to demand healthcare services more frequently than male patients. Smaller studies focusing on the diagnosis of FD have significantly higher assignment rates compared to nationwide inquiries. Our results illustrate substantial differences between estimations of the incidence of FD and the need for further studies. Besides the many obstacles associated with diagnosis of FD, strict medical confidentiality laws prevent reliable and scientific investigations of this matter.
Introduction and hypothesis:
Urinary incontinence (UI) is a highly prevalent condition, but is often not discussed owing to social stigma. Reddit is an internet platform for anonymous information sharing, expression, and discussion. We sought to qualitatively analyze people's behavioral, psychological, and illness experiences with UI expressed on Reddit to improve our understanding of patients' perceptions and ultimately the care we provide.
Methods:
We used the Subreddit group "Incontinence" over 5 years and "BeyondtheBump" (postpartum forum) over 1 year as transcripts for qualitative analysis. Two independent researchers read and coded relevant threads (>100 posts and >400 comments). Charmaz's principles of grounded theory were applied. This included line-by-line coding of transcripts utilizing key phrases followed by grouping similarly coded phrases into preliminary themes. Emergent concepts were derived from these themes.
Results:
A group of Reddit users with diverse UI etiologies were sampled. Qualitative analysis resulted in six preliminary themes. Users with UI were initially self-aware of their incontinence. They were interested in optimal product use. Users struggled with major life adjustments and relating to others. Nonetheless, they learned gradually to cope with their symptoms. Last, postpartum women specifically wanted additional immediate help for managing UI, often in the form of pelvic physiotherapy. Three emergent concepts were formed: the sense of isolation, acceptance over time, and self-drive to manage their UI.
Conclusions:
Internet forums such as Reddit may serve as a health resource for people with UI. Physicians can strive to better understand the patient perspective and their needs in order to provide optimal care.
Medical child abuse, sometimes referred to as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy or childhood factitious disorder, poses significant diagnostic, intervention, and ethical issues for medical and mental health practitioners alike. Psychologists working in pediatric hospitals and medical clinics should remain mindful of the health and ethical risks posed by these conditions, which are challenging to detect and treat. The surreptitious nature of the conditions and hazards they pose require an integrated medical, psychological, and child protective response. This article provides historical and clinical background on the condition along with tabular guides and recommendations to assist in detection and intervention.
Our culture has a rich history of fairy tales, folklore and literature. These have all served a purpose, often to entertain, but also to moralise. Authors have often included interesting characters with identifiable medical conditions or described interesting characters that lend their names to conditions we can identify today. This paper looks at the medical conditions found in fairy tales, folklore and literature.
Nahezu die Hälfte der Online-Kommunikation hat interpersonalen Charakter. Wenn sich Menschen über Emails, Chats, WhatsApp-Nachrichten, Dating-Dienste, Online-Foren, Social-Networking-Plattformen und sonstige Soziale Medien austauschen, geht es immer auch um Identitätsdarstellungen, soziale Beziehungen und Gemeinschaftserleben. Der Beitrag fasst den sozialpsychologischen Forschungsstand zusammen und geht auf zentrale Fragestellungen, Theorien, Methoden und Befunde ein. Es zeigt sich, dass bei der interpersonalen Online-Kommunikation psychosoziale Chancen und Risiken meist Hand in Hand gehen.
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