Social Media and Health

Abstract Social media has become the modern “public square,” with its ability to connect its users across the world in near real time. Originally conceived of as a way for people to communicate about scientific developments, social media has spread into many areas of social life, replacing mail, newspapers, radio, and television as a primary way of communicating important information to millions. In this entry, Section “A Short History of Social Media” gives a short history of social media, and Section “The Relationship Between Social Media and Health” discusses how social media has been shown to be a cause of mental and physical health problems. Section “Social Media, Health Communities, and Communication” explains how social media has developed into a method of communicating and investigating public health issues such as disease outbreaks, and how those communications and investigations can be harmed by misinformation and disinformation.