2026/03/07 by Deanna Marie Giraldi · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Gun Ownership and Violence Research #Gothic Literature and Media Analysis #Sociology and Norbert Elias
paper · doi:10.1016/j.ssmqr.2026.100742
This study examines how survivors of firearm violence engage with and make meaning through online survivor networks as part of their efforts to navigate trauma, reconstruct identity, and sustain social belonging. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, I conducted an embedded subgroup analysis of 12 self-identified survivors drawn from a larger sample of 33 interviews. Survivors described online networks as sources of shared language, legitimacy, and meaning that helped them articulate their experiences. These spaces also offered emotional and practical support, often filling gaps left by formal health and social services. Beyond interpersonal support, survivors framed these networks as sociotechnical environments that shape how survivorship is recognized, negotiated, and performed. They experienced online networks as sites of civic and advocacy engagement, providing opportunities that could empower action but also introduce expectations and constraints. Survivors highlighted the complexity of negotiating visibility and disclosure within these communities, balancing personal needs for healing with pressures to perform survivorship. Overall, the findings suggest that online survivor networks function as vital yet contested infrastructures for recovery and identity reconstruction. By foregrounding the social, relational, and digitally mediated processes through which survivors craft meaning and legitimacy, this study extends qualitative understandings of digitally mediated trauma recovery and conceptualizes online peer support as an integral, though unevenly accessible, component of contemporary health and social care landscapes. • Survivor networks play a role in reconstructing identity and making sense of trauma. • Online networks act as a sociotechnical infrastructure influencing recovery. • Networks provide emotional support and pathways for civic and policy engagement. • Hermeneutic phenomenology reveals nuanced experiences in a networked subsample. • Survivor engagement evolves over time, balancing visibility, advocacy, and healing.