Investigating the Impact of Online Community Involvement on Safety Practices and Perceived Risks Among People Who Use Drugs

Substance abuse is prevalent in contemporary society, posing significant safety risks to people who use drugs (PWUD). The advent of online communities is gradually altering PWUD's drug use behaviors and, as a consequence, their safety practices. Yet, the precise impacts and challenges these changes introduce to PWUD's safety have scarcely been explored. We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with PWUD and analyzed discussion from 8 drug-related subreddits to examine how their involvement in online communities influences their safety practices. Our findings reveal that online communities have afforded PWUD broader access to information and community engagement, facilitating emotional support and better management of their drug use. Nonetheless, it has also introduced challenges such as the spread of misinformation, the promotion of risky behaviors, the risk of deception and the potential for shared information to be used against users. We further discuss the uniqueness that shapes PWUD's online challenges and offer recommendations to support safer, more inclusive digital practices for at-risk groups.