Health and Wellbeing on Social Media
Journeys to parenthood that involve medical assistance, (often referred to as trying to conceive (TTC) journeys) are one of my favorite types of videos to watch online, and it’s not just me who seems to love them. In fact, content relating to health in general has quickly become one of the most popular genres for users on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, Reddit, and even LinkedIn.
Whether you’re looking to watch a video about someone’s experience during their IUD insertion or you want to know what your discharge should look and feel like, you can find it on social media.
Critics are quick to point out concern over the rise in health and wellness content on social media, as these websites and apps can also be used to spread misinformation. However, by giving people a platform to amplify their messages, social media may actually be playing an important role in filling in care gaps and quickening the pace of healthcare reform in the US.
Social Media Is Picking Up The Slack
So why watch a video about an IUD insertion or a TTC journey instead of one about Moo Deng?
It seems that the striking rise in popularity of health and wellness content likely has to do with the accessible nature of these posts and videos.
Why Does Accessibility Matter?
Information on social media platforms is easy to find, and it’s usually packaged up in a visually engaging format, making it equally easy to consume. While this may seem superficial, the medical landscape wasn’t built with accessibility in mind, and information from more technical outlets is comparatively dense, difficult to follow, and rarely engaging.
It’s important to really underscore that so many of us are turning to sources such as Dr Tik Tok in part because the majority of us face a number of systemic barriers when seeking care for our health:
In fact, let’s take a minute to think about the following and consider why it may be that women feel more reassured and affirmed by content creators than providers:
Access to care
As of 2022, average wait times to see a family physician in the US are about three weeks, and that number can be even higher if you need to see a specialist. Some of us also need to travel far distances to find clinics and hospitals that can accommodate us, especially if we live further away from major cities.
Equally, many of us struggle to afford healthcare. As a matter of fact, almost half of reproductive-aged women in the US have skipped or delayed going to an appointment, getting medical tests, or filling a prescription due to cost-related issues.
Gaslighting
Whether we’re dealing with conditions that are specific to women, or those such as cardiovascular issues that affect men and women alike, it’s common to be left feeling like we need to either go the extra mile to prove we’re feeling unwell or just ‘deal with it’.
General lack of focus on women’s health issues
Historically, women have been left out of research and clinical studies, and despite the fact that we make up about half of the population, women’s issues continue to be understudied and underfunded.
This means that many medications and devices were not developed with women in mind, and that using them may not be as effective for women even if we follow the instructions to a T. It also means that providers may not be able to give us definite answers to certain questions about our health because they simply don’t have the data!
Women deserve better.
We need real progress and reform in the healthcare system, and rather than discrediting social media content right off the bat, it’s time to think about how social media could be a catalyst that helps drive us forward.
Could Social Media Be The Missing Link To Improving Women’s Health?
To be clear, the ever-present critiques of social media aren’t without merit. There’s absolutely an association between chronic use of social media platforms and issues with our mental health.
Equally, websites and apps are rife with both mis- and disinformation, which in some cases are leading women to turn away from accessing medications and treatments such as hormonal contraceptives that may otherwise align with their goals and priorities.
Nonetheless, social media platforms can still be great places for us to conveniently find credible information, by following the profiles of qualified and trusted sources such as:
- Medical professionals (doctors and nurses)
- Universities and hospitals
- Public health agencies (for example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))
- Organizations that are focused on public welfare
- This includes organizations such as Planned Parenthood and Hormonally!
Social Media’s Expands Reach
In addition to the wealth of accessible information that we can find online about everything from puberty to menopause, social media’s ability to connect anyone with an internet connection also enables us to do two very important things:
Amplify our voices & spread awareness
One of the most powerful aspects of social media is its ability to expand reach and make content go ‘viral’. We’re able to communicate with people across the globe, to share ideas, and to garner support for initiatives such as the Pad Project and Hormonally’s Contraceptives are Healthcare campaign.
Equally, the ability to make content go viral can send a message to medical professionals, lawmakers, research funding agencies, and service organizations about the issues that are important to us.
Add nuance to our conversations about healthcare
Conversations around women’s health and the issues particularly related to accessibility in healthcare benefit from giving a voice to those of us whose experiences may be less common- because improving healthcare for women means improving healthcare for all women.
This nuance can be especially useful for informing providers and service organizations about issues that may be flying under the radar, such as cultural barriers to accessing care, and give them a better idea of how they can better serve us going forward.
We Want To Feel Less Alone
I can personally attest that social media platforms can help women with our health and wellness journeys because many of these platforms helped me to navigate my own PCOS diagnosis many years ago.
I initially struggled to get my head around my diagnosis, until I found a PCOS subreddit. All of a sudden, I had access to a community of women who knew exactly what I was going through, and advice about medications and lifestyle changes based on what had worked for other women. And contrary to the interactions I sometimes had with my providers, my queries were always met with patience and understanding.
I’ve similarly been pleased to find a sense of camaraderie on other platforms that share the content of creators who discuss contraception, fertility, menstruation, postpartum, menopause, fibroids, endometriosis, and a host of other topics.
I’ve been able to share in both the joy and pain of the other women in these communities, and through learning about all these issues that can affect our health, I find that I’m now more informed and primed to advocate for myself when I’m speaking to my providers about my issues, priorities, and concerns.
Where Social Media Can Do Better
Social media platforms definitely deserve our props for supporting women and promoting topics related to women’s health, but these platforms aren’t perfect.
A problem that continues to inhibit progress in women’s health is the censorship of words such as vagina, vulva, and breast. In taking away our ability to use these words, social media platforms are both affecting the quality of information that we have access to (and therefore may be contributing to the spread of misinformation), and also further stigmatizing these topics that we’re working to normalize.
Equally, while these platforms are technically open for anyone to use, in practice it’s often those of us who are younger or more tech savvy who benefit from using these platforms the most. Unfortunately, this can lead those who aren’t as familiar with social media or internet culture to feel excluded from conversations about our health that are meant to feel inclusive and productive.
The Take Home
Without a doubt, we should continue to be skeptical of the way we consume social media, especially with respect to health and wellness- related content. However, it’s also clear that social media does a lot to support women’s health, and no matter how you feel about it, it’s not going anywhere any time soon!
These platforms could never replace the healthcare system, but by giving us the tools to create communities, share information in more approachable ways, and normalize stigmatized topics, social media platforms may actually be improving women’s health while simultaneously lessening a load on the healthcare system.
In the spirit of being solution-oriented, let’s not get consumed by the areas where social media is lacking, and instead focus on making the most of the situation and ensuring our safety and security when using these platforms to engage with health and wellness content.
Here’s a list of qualities to watch out for when assessing whether or not a post on social media is credible:
- The content is being shared or reposted by a trusted source (eg. medical professional, institution, organizations that are supported by the government and those that are not-for-profit)
- The source or post is trying to inform and engage with you, as opposed to trying to sell you on a product or service
- Content contains anatomically correct terminology (unless limited by censorship)
- The post contains a list of citations, and cited sources are all relatively recent
- Sometimes posts are also reviewed by trusted professionals, which is a huge green flag in terms of authenticity.
- Posts use accurate and descriptive terminology, and avoid using words and phrases such as ‘miracle’ or ‘secret ingredient’
Share this blog post and spread the word!
References
AMN Healthcare; Merritt Hawkins. 2022 Survey of physician appointment wait times and Medicare and Medicaid acceptance rates. AMN Healthcare; 2022.
Lai F, Wang L, Zhang J, Shan S, Chen J, Tian L. Relationship between Social Media Use and Social Anxiety in College Students: Mediation Effect of Communication Capacity. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 18;20(4):3657. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043657. PMID: 36834357; PMCID: PMC9966679.
Munira Z. Gunja et al., Health and Health Care for Women of Reproductive Age: How the United States Compares with Other High-Income Countries (Commonwealth Fund, Apr. 2022). https://doi.org/10.26099/4pph-j894
Wu J, Trahair E, Happ M, Swartz J. TikTok, #IUD, and User Experience With Intrauterine Devices Reported on Social Media. Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Jan 1;141(1):215-217. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005027. Epub 2022 Dec 5. PMID: 36473194; PMCID: PMC9892286.
