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Lisa Baertlein, a Reuters reporter who occasionally writes about gaming, has an interesting item up today about how support groups are looking to Web 2.0 for new ways to help support returning U.S. war veterans.
The article doesn't get into much detail, but at one point it mentions that this new generation of war vets have different needs.
Those who are working to heal the physical and mental wounds of this new breed of veterans are looking to virtual gathering grounds like MySpace, YouTube and even Xbox Live to help connect like-minded individuals.
Dr. Larry Albers, chief of mental health at the VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California, says young soldiers grappling with the psychological trauma of war are not big fans of group therapy, but they are very computer savvy. Many soldiers use e-mail and Web-enabled video phone services to stay in touch with family at home."They are much more comfortable on MySpace than on my couch," he said.
That's a neat idea, a support group in-game. What about the PS3's Home? It seems to me that a virtual apartment could be the perfect place for this sort of cyber support group.
