ABU DHABI SECONDARY SCHOOL
GRADE 11 TERM 3
Health science
Study guide Unit 9 Social media and online health
What is social media?
Social media are websites or online services that let people connect with others.
They can be used to get to know people more, make new friends and share
information.
MAIN REASONS PEOPLE USE
SOCIAL MEDIA
•
To stay in touch with friends
•
Staying up to date with news and events
•
To fill spare time
•
To find entertaining or funny content
•
Meeting new people
•
Sharing photos and videos
•
Finding products to buy
ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL
MEDIA
•
Information
•
Communication
•
Promotion (yourself or a
product)
DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL
MEDIA
•
Access to personal
information
•
Risk of hackers
•
Addiction to social media
SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS
SOCIAL MEDIA APPS
• Around 3.6 billion
Social media apps are
computer programs.
You can download them
on smartphones and
tablets. They usually
perform a certain job
E.g. a food delivery app
Social media is very
popular and there are
many studies about
how it can influence
people’s behaviour.
people use social media
• In the UAE 99% of the
population use social
media
• In the UAE, YouTube is
the most popular app
Social media can
change how people
behave. Many
people do things on
social media that they
would not usually do
in person.
Social media influences
what people buy.
Companies use social
media to promote their
products. They track
what you look at
online.
1
Social media
influencers are
people on social
media with lots of
followers.
Social media in healthcare
Social media provides an easy way of finding and sharing important health
information. It can be useful for both patients and healthcare providers.
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
PATIENTS
• Communicate with their patients
• Research medical conditions
• Improve their patients experience
• Compare healthcare providers
• Train medical staff
THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR HEALTHCARE
• Information on the internet and social media is not always correct
• People who post information about medical conditions on social
media often do not have a medical background
• Looking at medical conditions online can cause you to worry as you
might start to think you have the condition being described
How social media can affect health and well-being
If used correctly social media has lots of positives.
• You can meet people with the same interests
• You can learn new skills and find information
• You can build a connection with other people
• If you live in a small or remote community you
can talk with different groups online
• It can create easier distance learning
2
The negative side of social media
SOCIAL MEDIA AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
• Lower levels of physical activity, spending 2-3 hours a day on social media instead of being active.
Not doing enough physical activity can lead to weight gain
• Sleep problems - the blue light from your laptop or smartphone can stop the body producing the
hormone that helps you to sleep. Lack of sleep can cause mood problems and even lead to
accidents
SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL HEALTH
• Less face-to-face time
• Often people would rather communicate by message than speak directly to another person
• Can lead to loneliness and anxiety
• Make sure you spend quality time with friends and family
SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH
• Online cyber bullying- using technology to threaten, embarrass, or target another person
• Having fake friends- sometimes you do not know everyone on your ‘friend’ list
• Comparing yourself to other people - it is important to remember that on social media a lot of what
you see is not real
3
Having a healthy online presence
YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
DIGITAL FOOTPRINT
Every time you go online you leave a trace of
your activity. This activity will remain
somewhere online even if you delete it. This
may include information from your social
media, your browser history and any photos
and videos you upload.
All of the actions you take online shape a
piece of what is called your digital footprint.
This could be seen by your family, friends,
teachers, future university, or future employer.
How to keep a healthy online presence
1
Use social media in a positive way
2
Think before you post negative things
3
Choose what you put online carefully
4
Set your social media settings to private
5
Research yourself
PERSONAL E SAFETY
INFORMATION E SAFETY
This means keeping yourself safe from
other people who might bully or hurt you
using the internet
This means keeping all your personal
information safe online
Internet scams, malware & phishing
Cyber bullying & fake profiles
4
Finding reliable information online
It is important to know where to find reliable sources of online health information. This is so that you
do not harm yourself or other people by following bad health advice.
Government health
advice websites
Online helplines or
forums
Where to find reliable
information online
Medical journals
Your doctor or nurse
Other reliable health
information websites
HOW TO SEARCH FOR RELIABLE INFORMATION
1. Use websites you know
2. Who wrote it?
3. Is the website safe
4. Check how old the information is
5. Make a judgement
5