Can You Trust Social Media for Health Advice?

Is social media a reliable source for health advice? With the surge in health-related content online, it's crucial to discern fact from fiction. Let's delve into the credibility of these platforms and their impact on our health decisions.

Is social media a helpful tool when it comes to these topics?

Social media can serve as a powerful medium to get a message out or educate a group of people

• It can break down barriers by making information accessible, but discernment is necessary
• Although it may seem like scary territory, these questions surrounding online medical advice and nuanced conversations aren’t new
• Today, the methods of communication and vessels for these types of messages just look a bit different
• Should people be wary and cautious of the seemingly great advice they come across?

Benefits of Health Advice on Social Media

Andrey Zheluk, a researcher and lecturer in health services management at Charles Sturt University, has analyzed the pros and cons of TikTok as a channel for receiving medical advice – specifically when it comes to lower back pain.

• As his studies have now shifted toward content surrounding anxiety on the platform, he’s found that social media is useful and important in the medical sphere: awareness
• First-person confessional content by influencers on TikTok can raise awareness for those who may have experienced similar situations, which can have a comforting or eye-opening effect
• Another area where social media can be helpful is in the self-care arena.

Consider the platform

The nature of the medium matters

• Shorter formats make it harder to discuss complex, nuanced topics and answer difficult health questions
• Red Flags Extremes
• Quick fixes
• Substance intake
• Aesthetic
• Language
• Content beginning or ending with a disclaimer encouraging viewers to see or consult with a medical professional is a safer bet

Challenges of health advice on social media

Just because a theory or medical occurrence isn’t yet integrated into mainstream medicine doesn’t mean it’s wrong or incorrect

• Viewers can be susceptible to inaccurate medical advice on these digital channels when they are experiencing pain that is not getting better, haven’t visited a doctor, and continue to cycle through these videos in the hope of an answer for healing
• Even if a particular video is helpful, when it does not encourage viewers to see a doctor or therapist to get officially diagnosed, it can become an issue

What to remember

While general advice can be helpful, your physician knows your history and the other factors attached to your personal health.

• “Everything has to be put into context as it pertains to your individual case, because health care is individualized.”
• Bring any information you’ve come across or want to integrate into your own life to your next visit.

Consider the Source

Be discriminating in who puts the advice up

• If it’s a medically licensed professional, find out what organization they belong to and see what their background is, what their area of expertise is, and what other official information is out there on what they know.
• Seek out other medical professionals’ content to see what the majority is saying.

Consider the content

Seek out and engage with content that references reputable institutional sources

• If what you are hearing or seeing is reputable, you’re going to see it in reputable publications
• Mainstream publications that have large volume
• Medical publications or channels that are geared towards providing unbiased clinical information

Source