Table 4.

Difficulties because of a lack of safety, privacy, and security controls experienced by participants in both sample groups by subtheme.

Subtheme—number of participants from DAa (n=21) and comparison (n=7) groups	Difficulty reported by the DA group participants	Difficulty reported by the comparison group participants
Lack of control over access and usage (DA group: 19/21 and comparison group: 1/7)	Addictively accessing similarly upsetting content (eg, news articles on similar topics) that is readily available Repeatedly clicking on posts and performing other actions on social media, news, and shopping websites Addictively performing online tasks that displace other tasks—gaming, gambling, and watching videos Keeping track of time on social media is difficult Coping with anxiety by fixating on finding answers to a salient issue online and avoiding activities (eg, accessing bank account in anticipation of a low balance) Easy achievable compulsion to set up bank overdrafts, make online purchases, and donate to charities Avoid online civic engagement because of a sense of insignificance Personal online shopping results in feelings of guilt Reluctantly using online dating when feeling low to increase feelings of self-worth	Addictively accessing social networking services and news websites
Lack of safety controls (DA group: 11/21 and comparison group: 0/7)	Understanding how to protect one’s family from online dangers and being confident enough to do so Unable to anticipate if a news article will be upsetting Detecting scams and phishing attempts on banking platforms Limiting Web usage by only using familiar websites to avoid unknowingly committing criminal acts Lack of control over exposure to content Trusted websites that occasionally feature links to unsafe websites	—b
Threats to privacy (DA group: 10/21 and comparison group: 1/7)	Fear that data from personal data breach would be sold to third parties, or fear of being hacked A sense of insignificance discourages the implementation of privacy measures on social media platforms Frustrating when personal data sharing, including seemingly unnecessary personal data, is required to participate in online activities Targeted advertising using posts, especially posts shared during a depressive episode Distressing having comments publicly visible Finding and understanding terms and conditions policies and keeping abreast of changes	Ensuring privacy and safety online—identifying scams and scammers
Ambivalent contact (DA group: 10/21 and comparison group: 1/7)	Fear of direct contact or contact beyond a “like” or similar form of engagement, from social connections, especially during a depressive episode Uncertainty about how to stop contact—being removed from electronic mailing lists Mandatory contact to obtain resources—subscription to electronic mailing lists Making contact—connecting with people through video clips and reading news instead of direct contact, avoid responding to messages as it is mentally effortful, and pressured to respond to messages immediately	Avoiding spam via online social networking sites

^aDA: depression and anxiety.

^bNot applicable.