JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Research has revealed both benefits and harms of social media use, but the public has very little guidance on how to modify their use to maximize the benefits to health and wellbeing while minimizing potential harms. Given that social media is intricately embedded into our lives and we now have an entire generation of social media natives, the time has come for a public health research agenda to guide social media use and the design of social media platforms in ways that improve health and wellbeing. In this viewpoint we propose such a public health agenda for social media research that is framed around 3 broad questions: (1) How much social media use is unhealthy and what individual and contextual factors shape that relationship?, (2) What are ways social media can be used to improve physical and mental wellbeing?, and (3) How does health (mis)information spread, how does it shape attitudes, beliefs and behavior; and what policies or public health strategies are effective in disseminating legitimate health information while curbing the spread of health misinformation? We also discuss four key challenges that impede progress on this research agenda: negative sentiment about social media among the public and scientific community, a poorly regulated research landscape, poor access to social media data, and lack of a cohesive academic field. Social media has revolutionized modern communication in ways that bring us closer to a global society, but we currently stand at an inflection point. A public health agenda for social media research will serve as a compass to guide us toward social media becoming a powerful tool for the public good.