SOCIAL media has become a key source of information and advice for young adults with chronic health conditions, a study by Scots academics has found.
The report by Glasgow University researchers has found that while online checks for information is well established amongst people with health concerns, social networks like Facebook and Twitter are increasing a place to turn to for young adults managing their conditions.
The paper, published in the Health Expectations journal, interviewed 40 young adults aged between 18 and 30 with experience of diabetes or common mental health issues such as depression or anxiety.
Dr Gillian Fergie, from Glasgow University’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing, said: “In this study young adults simply took for granted that ‘going online’ would be the primary means of accessing health-related information.
"While previous research has highlighted search engines as the primary gatekeeper to relevant health information, what this study noted was that now many young adults also use links and recommendations from within their social networks too.
“They discussed how they actively and effortlessly negotiate between professionally produced content such as official leaflets or medical guidelines, and online user-generated content which might include personal accounts.
"Many said they used social media to draw on other people’s experiences of a similar illness and inform their own health management strategies.”
The university said young adults with diabetes or experience of mental health issues were interviewed because of the ongoing nature of their health issues and the likelihood of them continuously seeking health information online and through social media.
As well as general fact-finding, the study found participants who took part searched for online health information as a means of feeling less isolated and finding emotional support from people who were dealing with the same, or similar, health issues.
One young female interviewee experiencing depression said: “I started to feel like, ‘well, maybe it is depression’ and I did Google it – the usual stuff, and I thought, ‘yeah, this must be it’."
Another young woman with diabetes said: “The organisations, they’re not the people who are actually dealing with diabetes on a day-to-day basis, the burden of having it so I think these diabetes Facebook pages, they’re good… for just knowing that there are other people that have the same condition.”
One young man experiencing anxiety added: “When I’ve been feeling down I’ve Googled 'other people feeling down', just to see what they’re dealing with. I don’t want to know their problem; I just like to know that you’re not the only person that feels that way. It’s nice to know that people understand, you know, how it can beat you.”
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