The Importance Of Social Media And Health

As time goes on, technology has been a major element in society in different aspects. Going more in-depth about technology, social media has progressed incredibly fast as it became a major lifestyle in the community. The same concept applies to how it is used in the medical field, it has advanced significantly in the modern day compared to the first time it was introduced. Many people use social media as a daily basis in their routine, a matter of fact, it has become a necessity, some will check their health status online, others will contact doctors seeking for advice. It remotely connects patients from different nations with health facilities. Also, it is a great route to seek information or beloved ones. In the medical field, social media …show more content…
The same thing goes to smoking and its side effects. Throughout time, medical field and public health specialists attempt to spread awareness on how to be preventive and avoid controllable risk factors. Social media is one of the best ways to spread awareness in the community due to fact that it is so popular among people. The variety of ages and different perspectives helps convince others and allows the promotion to become faster and more effective. Many studies show how social media is an effective way to promote health, for example, smoking cessation. In one of these studies, the authors claim that a digital media based campaign “have shown promise for encouraging smoking cessation in young adults and social media (SM) tools and technologies have become a key resource for young adults” (Baskerville et al. 352). It indicates younger ages are more likely to be influenced by social media based on the popularity and the opinions of others. Individuals are exposed to different perspectives on how foolish and dangerous smoking can be to the smoker and to second-hand smokers as well. Other perspectives’ can be a deciding factor in encouraging smoking