Online risky behaviours and risk mitigation strategies in bipolar disorder

Excessive involvement in risky activities with a high likelihood of negative consequences is a defining feature of manic episodes in bipolar disorder, and the internet facilitates 24/7 access to platforms and services that can trigger or enable risky behaviours. For example, disinhibition and hypersexuality may manifest as regretted behaviour on social media or online dating, or compulsive use of pornography. Overspending and financial risk-taking is enabled by easy access to online shopping or gambling, payday loans and ‘buy now, pay later’ services, microtransactions, scams, and high-risk investments such as cryptocurrency. Although people with bipolar disorder desire support managing risk-taking behaviours, little research has been conducted to understand the prevalence and impacts of impulsive and risky behaviours in an online environment. There is also a missed opportunity to learn about strategies employed by people with bipolar disorder to safely and effectively use digital technologies; such insights could be used to inform future interventions and educational outputs. Students will have the opportunity to design studies to address this understudied topic, such as surveys and qualitative interviews with consumers, carers, and healthcare providers, development and evaluation of web-based resources, and explorations of predictors of risky behaviours.