Is first impression relevant in online health support communities? Preliminary investigation of the effects of social presence

Patients' initial impression can influence the kind of reactions they receive and their subsequent participation. Prior studies use inference models to examine participation as a continuum phenomenon. In the online health supporting communities (OHSCs), distinguishing giving participation from receiving participation provide interesting insights at the granular level. Using social presence theory, this study identifies and uses social presence cues in the initial post of 168 patients to predict patients' giving and receiving participation in a prominent OHSC. Findings reveal that the social presence cues affected the two participation dimensions differently. Specifically, while intimacy is the most important predictor of giving participation, nonverbal communication is the most important predictor for receiving participation. The study offers important contributions to research and practice.