Social Media: A Health Educator's Friend or Foe?

I am truly overwhelmed by the social media frenzy and the advances in new technology. More so, there’s the whole subset of “vocabulary” that needs to be learned to effectively stay in the loop. Sometimes I want to throw my hands in the air and give up on trying to stay in touch with it all, but then I realize by being culturally relevant, I become a better health educator.

Now the question is: are social media like Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and texting my friends or foes? I think if social media can be harnessed and used appropriately it can be a very effective health education tool. However, like your mother always told you “Everything in moderation.” I think if overused or used improperly, we could have a global disaster on our hands. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But the results wouldn’t be good.

Example 1: The CDC on Twitter

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have multiple sub-centers/departments on Twitter, tweeting updates to their followers. This is a pretty effective way of keeping the general public (at least those on Twitter) updated to any breaking public health news like a new publication or report or “Hooray! It’s International Eat-Your-Veggies Day!” But probably the section that may have the most purpose with Twitter is the Disaster Preparedness section of the CDC. Twitter is potentially a good channel for communicating information (albeit, brief) on preparing yourself for, well, disaster. One situation where this may have back-fired, however, is with the swine flu. Tweeters panic and make assumptions since there’s no way to get the whole story due to the 140 character limits. Plus, there’s no room for a post-script “Don’t Panic.”

Example 2: Online Forums

Gobs and gobs of research have shown that social support in its various forms is an effective way of managing chronic disease. If you Google Scholar or do a PubMed search of “Social Support and Disease" you’re bound to be overwhelmed with the search results. Online support groups, such as those for type 2 diabetes or breast cancer, have had great impact on mental and physical well-being of their participants. You might even know someone who participates in one and can attest to how much they love their online support system. Some benefits of online support groups are:

1. Common interest. Not feeling alone in your suffering is a good thing.

2. Anonymity. Participants don’t feel judged by people who already know them and have preset opinions.

Some health issue support groups, however, aren’t destined for greatness. Studies have found that support groups of teenagers suffering from anorexia or bulimia are counterproductive because the teens share their “methods” for staying thin. I give an “A” for effort, though.

Example 3: Texting Health Messages

I hate texting. I’m so glad I’m not a middle or high school teacher because I’d probably hate it more. I think we’ll have an emerging pandemic of “texter’s thumb” on our hands (no pun intended) in the next few years. And I think it teaches teenagers bad grammar and inappropriate use of the acronym. However, realizing we live among the “text generation,” I think it can be an important avenue for health messages. I’m currently working on a project that works with multiple sites doing diabetes self-management studies. One of our studies is using text messaging as a means of reminding participants of upcoming doctor appointments, medication reminders, healthy eating tips, and the list goes on and on. I’m very interested to see the results of this study. Several studies have already been done (mostly international) that have found text messaging (or SMS) to have a positive impact on certain behavior changes. However, several studies have also been deemed “inconclusive,” so more research needs to be done in this area.

Okay, so I haven’t covered all forms of social media. I tried to be objective, but let’s face it, I’m a fan of you, social media. Let’s be friends.