Table 2.

Three-month free-response codebook.

Category and code		Definition	Example
Community
	Not feeling alone	Participant mentions that the intervention has them relating to blog posts and feeling that what they are going through is not just happening to them	“I liked that I was able to connect with people similar to me.” [ID 41]
	Rejection from others	Participant worries that other participants will not enjoy, comment, or will judge their posts	“I worried whether or not people would appreciate what I had to say or if they would just brush it off as if I didn’t know what I was talking about.” [ID 63]
	Helping others	Participant mentions using, continuing, or enjoy the intervention because they use their experience and posts to support others	“I want to help other people like me who suffer from mental illnesses” [ID 51]
	Community support	Participant explicitly mentioned feeling a sense of community with other participants using intervention	“I gained a sense of community and support from people from all backgrounds. It is nice to be able to be vulnerable without the fear of being invalidated.” [ID 44]
Writing		Participants indicated an interest in writing and writing skills, whether it was writing in general or the process of writing for the intervention	“I was able to improve my writing by blogging.” [ID 69]
Barriers to blogging
	Time	Participant did not have enough time to use the intervention	“My primary worry is time, I am an incredibly busy college student and I was not sure I would have time to make comments and write blogs.” [ID 106]
	Ideas	Participant expressed worries about not having something to write about	“Maybe that I would run out of ideas.” [ID 64]
Benefits to self
	Self-reflection	Participant enjoyed using the platform because it gave them an opportunity to reflect on their experiences	“Insight to my own strengths and weaknesses, tips from others, a sense of community.” [ID 67]
	Education and resources	Participant learned something by reading other blog posts or mentioned access to resources listed on website	“I’ve learned a LOT of information from reading other people’s posts, including multiple apps/websites that I now use, which is just really cool and something that I didn’t initially expect to get out of this experience.” [ID 47]
	Outlet	Participant mentioned that the intervention served as a place for them to openly talk about what they were going through	“It may be because of covid, but my mental health has been a rollercoaster, so I needed this blog to feel sane. The blogs have really helped me have a space to let out how I feel, and also learn from others.” [ID 96]
Anonymity
	Benefit	Participant stated that they enjoyed the anonymity or confidentiality of the intervention	“I could be anonymous if I wanted to and I could speak my mind and see others who felt the same way.” [ID 66]
	Fear of losing anonymity	Participant expressed worry that someone could trace their blogs back to them	“I was worried that my blogs would be traced back to me. I would prefer to stay anonymous.” [ID 73]
Mental health effect		Participant mentions any impact that the intervention had on their mental health	“I’ve gained better a perspective about mental health and the work that I am doing with my therapist.” [ID 103]
Critiques		Criticisms, feedback, and recommendations that participants had about the intervention	“It took me a while to figure out how to blog as well as navigate the site.” [ID 90]