Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword for Public Health

Everyone is on social media ??– whether it’s you, your neighbor, or your grandma. We use it for everything and anything – whether we’re scrolling into the abyss or distracting ourselves from reality. Although social media has been around for a hot minute, the COVID-19 pandemic showcased just how much health education information can be dispersed on these platforms. (See: Misinformation and the infodemic.)

People spent more time on social media, and health organizations took to social media during this time to connect with their audiences. One platform we collectively bonded over? TikTok. TikTok blew up like Aunt Marge in the third Harry Potter book ??, which made virality and becoming an influencer more attainable. How many times have you heard, “I heard it from TikTok” or “TikTok made me buy it”? Influencers thrive on the platform. Case in point, people are out here committing misdemeanors to get their hands on a Stanley cup?!?

But news flash ??: Social media is bad for mental health, especially for children and adolescents. While health influencers on social media can mean well, some trends, like social media as a replacement for therapy are a no-go, and others, like fitspiration (#fitspo), can easily go wrong. This has us questioning the pros and cons when it comes to people sharing health information online and what our role is as public health professionals and communicators. ?? Let’s talk about it!

#1

Pro: Social media can improve access to health information.

Con: Social media can serve as a dark echo chamber ??? for vulnerable people searching for health information, surfacing content that is incorrect or that isn’t intended for them.?

For example, mental health videos on TikTok have skyrocketed with influencers opening up about their experiences. Although this greatly contributes to the destigmatization of mental health, misinformation is rampant and youth are using this content to diagnose themselves. What can we do about this? Here’s an idea: Since we can’t control the algorithms, let’s influence the influencers.

#2

Pro: Social media can create community amongst people with shared identities and cultures or in the same stage of life that they might not otherwise have access to.

Con: Social media communities can become toxic and confusing, with judgmental and negative comments or conflicting viewpoints.??

For example, new parents use social media to get insight into how to help their babies sleep better and exchange tips on how to deal with tantrums. However, parenthood looks different for everyone and no family's experience is the same. How do we get people to take the information shared on social media with a grain of salt? Here are a couple of our fave talking points ?? : 1) Just because something works for someone else, doesn’t mean it will work for you! 2) Just because someone says something with their whole chest, doesn’t mean it’s accurate and that you should believe it!

#3

Pro: Social media can provide real-time insights into people’s knowledge, thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors as related to public health products.

Con: Social media can lead to products going viral and becoming scarce for those who need them the most.

Look at Ozempic for instance – a pharmaceutical drug that became a social media ‘trend’ and a household name in 2023. Those opening up about using Ozempic – or other forms of semaglutide – for weight loss have come under fire for taking the easy way out and stealing medications from people with type-2 diabetes. And then came “budget Ozempic” (aka using laxatives for weight loss), “nature’s own Ozempic” (aka berberine), and most recently counterfeit Ozempic. Did we not see this coming? How do we get ahead of this in the future? Thoughts?

Social media can be a double-edged sword for the health of the public and for the dissemination of health information, and it’s something we (public health organizations and professionals) need to navigate. We wish there was GPS for this! ??