I have decided to try and reach out to people about their experiences with social anxiety through Reddit. I have used Reddit before but I have just been observing the post, seeing what people were talking about. I put a post out explaining who I am, a bit about my project and the kind of information I wanted to gather.
So far i have had two responses from people that are willing to answer my questions. I have been drafting up what I am going to ask them, trying to keep them fairly open so I don't scare them off or ask too personal a question.
Questions
Hi, Just to introduce myself, I am Sophia. Just want to start off by saying thank you so much for doing this. I've prepared some questions and I want to iterate you do not have to answer any question that make you uncomfotable or do not want to answer.
Just to give you some background as to what this information is going to be used for. I am an Interaction Designer and my focus is designing human interactions for physical or digital products. The area of my final year project is Social Anxiety. I am currently in my research phase, gaining insights into how people with Social Anxiety think and deal with their anxiety.
Questions
When did you start experiencing social anxiety?
How has it affected your life?
What do you find most difficult about this condition?
What kind of social interactions do you hate the most and why?
What is it about social interactions that triggers your anxiety?
What do you start to think when this happens?
What calms you down?
Where are you most comfortable?
Is there any social situations you feel fully comfortable in?
Have you ever tried to seek help? If so, did it make an impact?
Do find mobile phones help or hinder your anxiety?
Thank you very much for your time. I will be conducting more research very soon, would you be interested in being involved?
Thanks, Sophia