The Use of Social Media and Mobile Digital Devices for

HealthDeborah Lupton, Department of

Sociology and Social Policy, University of Sydney

Types of social media

TwitterFacebookBlogsPinterestYouTubeCurating sites such as Pearltrees, Delicious,

Bundlr, Scoop.itPhoto-sharing sites such as Instagram, FlickrStorifySlideShare

What you can do with social media

connectcollaborateengageshareask and answer questionscurateresearchgather data in real time

My social media

My blog: ‘This Sociological Life’ http://simplysociology.wordpress.com

My Pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/dalupton

My Scoop.it collections: http://tinyurl.com/9jhhftr

My Twitter handle: @DALupton My SlideShare presentations: http://

www.slideshare.net/dlupton/presentations

Examples of using social media in infectious disease control

Using Google to develop tracking systems for flu

Using Twitter to trace the spread of cholera and responses to vaccine initiatives

Using Facebook to find social networks where infection has spread and identify symptoms and source of infection

Using Facebook to inform contacts of STDs

Tools to document disease spread and location

HealthMap: searches the web for reports of disease – people can report cases using smartphone app

Sickweather.com: tracks social messages about illness – people can log in and report symptoms

Click icon to add picture

Centers for Disease Control

Publishes guides to using various forms of social media

Distinction between ‘dissemination’ and ‘engagement’: social media encourages the latter

Personalisation, presentation and participation key to successful use of social media

Sociological perspectives

Sociologists interested in behaviour in social groups

Social disadvantageSocial justiceAccess to health care and other resourcesSocial determinants of health

Issues from a sociological perspective

Differential access to digital mediaPotential for stigmatisation of certain

individuals and social groupsPrivacy concerns: how will data be used

and stored?Negative aspects of surveillanceIssues for health insurance and health

care: may be denied if users seen to not conform to expected behaviours

Deeper sociological questions

How will users of social media come to define ‘health’?

‘Healthism’: focus on health above other issues

Will concepts of health become ever more individualised?

What are the implications of participatory surveillance?

See my Scoop.it collection for more information

‘Social Aspects of Digital Media and Health Care’

http://www.scoop.it/t/social-aspects-of-digital-media-and-health-care