Social media and psychology: A marriage made in heaven?

In a study published this month in “The Lancet”, a medical journal, researchers found that combining psychological principals and social media lead to more than double the amount of participants getting tested for HIV. Seven of the study participants tested positive and were linked with medical care. People in the control group were linked to social media without the psychological intervention and were about 50% less likely to get tested. This study suggests that combining psychology and social media may be an effective way to increase healthy behaviors and get health interventions to many people in need.

This has not been the first study that has found that social media could be a new forum for health promotion. A meta analysis published last month in the journal of Sexually Transmitted Infections looked at multiple studies that examined the effect of social media on condom use and STD testing. The results showed that the interventions lead to significant increases in both of these health behaviors. Social media is also being used to contact difficult to reach populations like veterans about things like mental health treatment.

An important thing to take away from the research is that the psychology is an important part of why this works. Just putting information out on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, or other social media outlets is not effective by itself. Using psychological principals to inform the ways in which you engage people about health information is important. As with any marriage, each partner contributes something important. Social media and psychology work best together to engage people in thinking about their health.

Social media combined with psychology can empower it’s users to be healthier and be more active in their own healthcare. As with any medium there are things to be aware of when looking to social media for information and guidance about health. Here are some tips to help you be a savy social media user:

• Evaluate the source and the quality of the information that you are reading. Just because it appears online doesn't make it reliable or true.
• Understand that there are implications for privacy when you use online mediums. If you are concerned about privacy be sure to read the user and privacy agreements for the services you use.
• Monitor your social media use and ensure that it is having a positive impact on your daily life. It should be a tool to help you stay connected to others and information. If it becomes something that causes you stress, anxiety, or impacts your ability to pursue offline interests you may need to evaluate your use.
• Try to remember to take technology breaks. It is important to be present in your life and unplugging can be a really good way to do that.