Health Misinformation on Social Media and Adolescent Health

Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash

Published in JAMA Pediatrics

AUTHORS
Monica L. Wang, ScD, MS, Boston University School of Public Health; Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
Katherine Togher, MPH, RD, CLC, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

ABSTRACT
Social media has become a dominant source where individuals consume and receive health information. Its widespread use makes it a powerful medium for disseminating health content. However, alongside evidence-based content, health misinformation, defined as “any health-related claim of fact that is false based on current scientific consensus”1 on topics such as vaccines, substances, infectious diseases, and diet, is extremely prevalent.2 Due to targeted marketing, health misinformation on social media also disproportionately harms female adolescents, racial and ethnic minority youth, LGBQT+ youth, and other marginalized groups. With social media use nearly ubiquitous among adolescents, this abundance of health misinformation poses serious challenges to health promotion and health equity. MORE