How a Journalist Exposed the Dangers of Teen Peer Support Forums

Some teens and others with mental health issues are turning to online platforms for emotional support from “caring strangers,” or at least that's the idea. But a recent series of five articles on Mashable.com by journalist Rebecca Ruiz revealed a host of problems associated with the 7 Cups platform, including the potential for manipulation of vulnerable young people by unqualified listeners and targeted abuse and harassment of the from the trolls. Additional stories explain why online child exploitation is so difficult to combat and why a contract between 7 Cups and the state of California was abruptly terminated.

In this “How I Did It,” Ruiz explains how a story that began as a way to explain how these types of platforms work evolved into a series investigating their potential dangers.

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

How did you hear about 7 Cups? What inspired you to start this series?

I had known about 7 Cups for a few years because I covered digital mental health. I knew about their paid therapy offering and I knew they did peer-to-peer interactions. In October 2022, I continued to receive these pitches from companies in the same space, essentially promoting the same service: talk to someone, feel less alone, get emotional support. I thought that was an interesting trend. I knew about peer support specialists and cases where people used their lived experience in combination with specific training to help other people. I thought if there were a number of platforms offering something close to peer support specialists, that could really empower people.

I started getting into this area thinking I was going to do what we call a utility, which is basically explaining these new platforms and what they offer and how they work. I started talking to people who use them, including 7 Cups users, and I started seeing negative experiences about 7 Cups in different forums like Reddit or Medium.

Then I started doing some more research on this and found a report from the University of California, Irvine on [the] Technical suite [initiative] noting that 7 Cups had a multi-million dollar contract with the State of California that was terminated without explanation. This caught my attention. I thought, “What happened there?” That's where it all began.

Did you initially envision this as a single story? Or did you go into it with the idea of ​​a series?

I didn't expect this to turn into a five-part series but frankly, it could have been longer. There was a lot more material that didn't necessarily make sense to our audience, like on the business models of these platforms. We realized there would be at least two stories; one of them was going to be what happened in California. Later in the process, my editor wisely said to divide what happens on 7 Cups into separate stories, one about teen safety and then another about the possibility of being trolled, bullied or abused on the platform, and finally a third story about what's happening. occurred in California.

How did you find certain sources, like people who used 7 Cups?

I worked on social media, trying to identify people who were publicly discussing some of the issues covered in the story. It's a lead. There were people who cared deeply about the mission of 7 Cups and wanted to see it work, who were involved in the platform in one way or another and had a whole range of emotions about what they had found. Maybe they were sad and dismayed, or frustrated. I reached out to concerned people and was able to open the door a little wider so I could make more connections.

What was important to you in telling these stories?

I have been reporting on mental health for more than a decade and am very aware of the challenges people face when trying to access mental health care, particularly affordable mental health care and High quality. I really appreciated that these platforms were trying to fill what they saw as a gap in the system. Not everyone needs or wants therapy. It seems like a really important effort to try to connect people with someone who cares about them and can support them.

At the same time, one of my areas of expertise is suicide prevention. When I learned that some people were going to the 7 Cups and were vulnerable, and [were] When I was told, “You should go kill yourself,” I thought that these platforms can be misused by bad actors and probably cause more damage than benefit. Then you add the child exploitation aspect, where we have young people who are desperately trying to connect with someone who cares about them and understands them. They are very vulnerable and it is not fair for them to try to seek help in a digital landscape that was not designed with their safety in mind.

I wanted to raise awareness of this possibility, and also [emphasize] we cannot assume that every technological or digital innovation in mental health care results in positive outcomes for everyone. No matter how noble the intentions, it's still about the Internet.

What have you learned about security and user verification on platforms like this?

Considering the tools available to these platforms, the range is very wide. It depends on what the platform intends to do and its business model. There's a lot of pressure on these platforms to scale as quickly as possible so they can compete in this larger market where they're trying to get contracts from employers, EAPs (employee assistance programs ) or insurers, and you have to have a very large number of users in order to appear attractive. There is an incentive… to have less verification because it poses a barrier to entry for users. The easier you make it for user buy-in and engagement, the greater your scale will be. I created several fake accounts on 7 Cups; I lost track of the number of underage accounts and adult accounts. This was not possible on other platforms because most of them are not free. This is directly related to the verification process. If you are free, anyone can walk through the door.

What feedback have you received on your series?

I got a note from a source who spoke to me, and they said they never thought their voice would matter. That was the most impactful feedback I received, in the sense that people involved in this project had tried, in their opinion, to change things to keep people safe and, for whatever reason, didn't. had not succeeded. Knowing that they feel like their voice was heard in some way and that someone took their concerns seriously is what you hope for in many ways as a journalist.

Many people working in digital mental health care have thanked me for highlighting some of the challenges, as this space is largely unregulated. There may be more regulation of these platforms by the FDA. But in the absence of strong regulation, there are few avenues other than journalism to hold these platforms to account. We're still following up on some leads that have come up in the reports, and there are still things leaking out, so there may be more to report in the future.