Workshop Proceedings of the 18th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media

Workshop: Digital Recovery, AI & Mitigating Harm in Social Media Workshop

DOI: 10.36190/2024.80

Published: 2024-06-01
Reclaiming the Narrative: Digital Recovery, AI & Mitigating Harm in Social Media Workshop at ICWSM 2024
Rezvaneh Rezapour, Layla Bouzoubaa, Steven R. Wilson

This workshop explored the role of digital narratives on social media and their use or impact on recovery and healing processes. By integrating expertise from psychology, health, social sciences, and artificial intelligence, we aimed to discuss how narratives related to mental health, substance use disorder, and sexual abuse shape public discourse and personal experiences. Social media serves as a medium that can facilitate destigmatization and foster community, particularly in areas of mental health and sexual abuse, yet it also poses risks such as cyberbullying, the spread of misinformation, and exposure to harmful content. This workshop was structured around three key themes: Digital Recovery Narratives, Harm Reduction & Healing in the Digital Age, and Shame & Intersectional Stigma. We brought together experts to offer a comprehensive perspective on leveraging these narratives for a deeper understanding of individual and collective recovery paths, thereby transforming our approach to digital interaction and support. During a collaborative working session, workshop attendees contributed to a shared vision for the future of research in digital recovery narratives, and we include the outcome of this brainstorming work in this report.