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Can social networking help consumers get healthier?
October 14, 2009Can social networking sites help people make wise health decisions? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says it depend on people's willingness to take action on the information they gain from the sites.
Using social networking sites to obtain health information and advice is controversial. Critics say the sites can confuse, give inaccurate information, or prevent people from seeking professional advice. They doubt consumers can carry the burden of complex medical decisions, and worry that social networks can actually harm naďve consumers by encouraging them to engage in self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In general, they found many benefits to using online communities for health advice. A three-stage process of reflecting, refining, and exploring is the key to effective use of the online sites, they say. The value of the online community is that it "facilitates learning by collectively transforming everyday individual experiences into usable knowledge," they write.
"We found that the community can collectively enable learning for individual members who often fail and falter on their own." By sharing their experiences, participants enlarge their repertoire of actions that affect their health. "Together these characteristics transformed helpless individuals into empowered patients who effortlessly changed physicians, switched medications, and modified diets."
However, the value of online community depends on how individuals choose to act on the information. "Productive inquiry alone is not sufficient to empower individuals," the authors write. "Community inquiry broadens the action choices available to its members. Action, however, is an individual choice."
The authors advise policymakers to lead the way in promoting learning in social communities so that consumers can empower themselves for informed decision-making and a better quality of life.
University of Chicago Press Journals
Social Networking Current Events and Social Networking News RSSDarwin meets Facebook
Natural history plans to chart life on earth, yet the discipline risks being buried under a landslide of painstakingly collected data that isn't always used.
Looking for privacy in the clouds
Millions of Internet users have been enjoying the fun -- and free -- services provided by advertiser-supported online social networks like Facebook. But Landon Cox, a Duke University assistant professor of computer science, worries about the possible down side -- privacy problems.
Students, teachers need to be transculturally literate, expert says
The current generation of college students and teachers need to be as culturally fluent with people from different cultures as they are with their own, a soft skill that has become an essential part of life in the 21st century, a University of Illinois expert on teacher education says.
K-State study finds 18- to 24-year-old group more politically active, but not more knowledgeable
A study by three Kansas State University graduate students finds that the 18- to 24-year-old demographic became more politically active during the 2008 U.S. election season through the use of new media, but that the young adults were not necessarily more knowledgeable about politics.
Does Facebook usage contribute to jealousy in relationships?
The more time college students spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to feel jealous toward their romantic partners, leading to more time on Facebook searching for additional information that will further fuel their jealousy, in an escalating cycle that may become addictive.
This article will self-destruct: A tool to make online personal data vanish
Computers have made it virtually impossible to leave the past behind. College Facebook posts or pictures can resurface during a job interview. A lost cell phone can expose personal photos or text messages. A legal investigation can subpoena the entire contents of a home or work computer, uncovering incriminating, inconvenient or just embarrassing details from the past.
Risks of sharing personal genetic information online need more study, Stanford bioethicists say
With just $399 and a bit of saliva in a cup, consumers can learn about their genetic risk for diseases from breast cancer to diabetes.
New look at Facebook and grades
News last month of an unpublished study suggesting that Facebook use is related to lower college academic achievement probably sent more than a few parents reeling. Now a new study may allay those concerns.
Program successfully teaches domestic violence victims safe use of technology
A new Washington state program designed to help victims of domestic violence increase their knowledge of how to use technology safely and help minimize the risks that technology can pose when one is in an abusive relationship has been evaluated as highly successful.
Coming of Age on the Internet
In the mid-90s, the Internet seemed like a dark place. Indeed, scientific studies from that time were documenting some real risks for teenagers, including fewer close friendships and more tenuous connections with family. It appeared that teens were sacrificing real relationships for superficial cyber-relationships with total strangers.
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