title: Adolescent and Young Adult Use of Social Media for Health and Its Implications.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine how adolescents and young adults (AYAs) use social media to share health information and to assess attitudes toward using social media to obtain health information and communicate with medical providers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study of AYAs, 12 years or older, attending a primary care adolescent and young adult clinic. Participants completed an anonymous survey about health-related social media use, personal health, and communication with their health care team.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 244 patients approached, 204 enrolled (83.6% participation rate). Almost all (98%) had used social media within the prior month, but only 51.5% had shared health information in these networks. These participants shared about mood (76.2%), wellness (57.1%), and acute medical conditions (41.9%). Those with self-reported poor health were more likely to share health information than other groups. Privacy was the most important factor determining which platform to use. Only 25% thought that social media could provide them with useful health information. Few AYAs connected with their health care team on social media and most did not want to use this method; texting was preferred.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AYAs maintain their privacy on social media regarding their health. Those with self-perceived poor health are more likely to share health information, potentially biasing online content and impairing the generalizability of social media research. AYAs do not view social media as a useful source of health information, which may limit the utility of public health messages through these platforms, and it may not be adequate for communication between patients and their health care team.
authors.affiliation: Program in Rheumatology, Division of Immunology, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: jonathan.hausmann@childrens.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hausmann
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent/Adult Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Currie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Touloumtzis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Matthew T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Communications, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Medicine, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Newton, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Colbert
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent/Adult Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Holly C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Gooding
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D058015:Health Communication; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011320:Primary Health Care; D018907:Privacy; D061108:Social Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescent health; Health information technology; Privacy; Social media; Young adult