More than 1 in 5 Users Make Health Decisions Based on Social Media, Despite Pervasive Mistrust
One second, you’re watching a cute animal video, and the next, it’s being offered unsolicited. health advice from a health promoter who swear a fad diet cures their illness.
We live in a world where our social media feeds exist controlled by AI algorithms that ends the relationship. And more people engage with health content than you might think.
A new study released Tuesday in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that among US adults who used social media in the previous 12 months, nearly 85% reported sharing health information, whether personal or general, on social media, while close to 70% participated in health-related online communities.
While the majority of users (78%) believed that the health information they viewed on social media was false or misleading, more than one in five said they made health decisions based on the content they saw.
“Physicians, public health leaders and the field must take this area of knowledge seriously,” said Dr. Rohan Khera, a cardiologist and data scientist at Yale School of Medicine and one of the study’s authors.
“The goal shouldn’t just be to tell people to avoid social media, but to improve the quality of health information in places where people already spend time,” Khera told CNET.
The research is timely there many find it difficult to find consistent, affordable access to health care, making free social media health content instantly available.
The results are based on 7,278 people who participated in the 2024 Health Information National Trends Survey, which is conducted annually by the National Cancer Institute to study the US public’s use of health and cancer-related information.
Most of us are on social media. We need the most trusted sources of health care to join us there.
Seeking health information on social media
In particular, Hispanic users and adults aged 65 and older were found to be more likely to make health decisions based on social media content. Blacks and Hispanics were also reported to be less likely than whites to mistrust health content on social media, while those with higher education or leading families tended to be skeptical, regardless of other factors.
Among adults with chronic conditions who use social media, they are less likely to share health information or participate in online communities than those without chronic conditions. It is unclear whether this is because they were already receiving routine care from a dedicated physician.
“This study focused on how people communicate with health information on social media, but it did not analyze the specific content that people were seeing, where it came from or whether it was true,” said Khera. Future studies could expand on the sources of social media health information, examining whether it is generated by AI or comes from a physician or facilitator.
Since the study relied on self-reported survey data, the results may be subject to bias.
“We also need to better understand what types of content are likely to influence decisions, which groups may be most affected and how platforms can promote accurate health information while limiting misleading claims,” concluded Khera.
Ultimately, misinformation about health affects all kinds of people. When medical professionals are unavailable, many of us are left to independently check and verify health-related social media content ourselves.
