There was a singer whom I used to follow on YouTube. One fine day, after weeks of not seeing a single video of hers, I went on to her channel, hoping to find one of her new compositions. But what I saw was not closely related to music, but rather closer to my profession. She had posted her video titled, “Mental Health Awareness.” And that was not all. There were more menstrual health, sex education, and so on. That video received millions of views and likes.
I watched that video only to realize that it was honestly nothing out of the blue; nothing different from anything that shows up on other social media posts. It featured the same old lines of, “It’s okay to not be okay”, “Talk to someone”, “Seek the help of a mental health professional”, and so on….
So, I decided to follow her advice and actually listen to the professional. I went on to watch the YouTube channel of a psychiatrist, whose talks had actually helped me feel better during my stressful exam phases. His talks on the exact same topics were far more insightful, scientifically explained in lucid language without those same clichéd statements. But what I saw next broke my heart. That video only had a few hundred views while the number of likes was in two digits.
The discrepancy was saddening but not surprising. One video was made for informing while the other was made for attracting. One video imparted knowledge while the other was a source of some feel-good entertainment. One was made by a famous singer whose channel people frequently visited, while the other was made by a lesser-known professional. And I wondered if important information on the internet was really being imparted the right way. Are social media influencers making or breaking the whole idea of creating awareness about pertinent topics?
THE BRIGHTER SIDE…
When social media influencers, especially singers, actors, and other such celebrities who have a huge fan following, post videos or articles on medical topics, they naturally garner a lot of attention. For many people with absolutely no knowledge of these things, these posts serve as a major source of information, thereby sensitizing the masses about basic medical conditions.
There are few doctors who also, for various reasons, may possess celebrity status, and such information coming from them serves the ultimate purpose of pertinent information reaching the masses. Even lesser-known diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis end up in the limelight when accompanied by a fun activity like the Ice Bucket Challenge.
The information presented by these influencers on social media, although taken from various sources on the internet, reaches even those people who would usually never bother to read a medical article. All this together, helps patients make informed decisions, dispels healthcare-related taboos, especially those around mental and sexual health, and spark conversations that people may not find comfort in initiating on a day-to-day basis.
THE FLIP SIDE…
Problems begin to arise when the person talking about medical issues is from a background completely unrelated to medicine which raises a question about the reliability of the content that they present. A pretty YouTuber unfortunately, may appeal more to the masses and be a more preferred source of information pertaining to menstrual hygiene, rather than an obstetrician and gynecologist donning a white coat with years of experience under their belt.
To add to that, most of the information is less scientific and more generalized, often leading to a shift of focus from what needs to be known to what one would like to hear. Many topics selected are mere click-bait which can entice one to watch the video rather than those which require actual coverage. We often see influencers talking about mental health and sex education but rarely about tuberculosis or malaria, probably because these topics may not be as glamorous as the former ones. Giving coverage to a lot of medical, surgical, and gynecological conditions, especially those that tend to go undiagnosed or have a higher mortality rate, seems to be lacking in this field.
Sometimes, the topic covered and the data presented in this content may also depend on whether any sponsorships were provided for promoting a product or not, which may come with its own set of biases. In addition to this, methods for checking the reliability and accuracy of the information on the internet are still in their infancy.
All this goes to show that social media influencers may end up presenting information from their own point of view, not always backed by evidence, that would eventually give them more views, likes, and overall exposure, rather than aiming at spreading awareness about health and disease.
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Social media health influencers come with their own set of pros and cons. Although the intentions behind it may be extremely noble, the outcome surely has its own set of demerits and biases. We, as doctors, can play a role in streamlining the whole process and must take as much responsibility to ensure that the information reaching people is reliable and not motive driven by any influencer.
It is important to encourage more doctors to create their own social media content, especially in their own field of expertise, while enforcing certain rules and regulations pertaining to allowing non-doctors to present medical information or at least subjecting them to strict fact-checking. However, irrespective of the means, the end result of all these efforts would be to ensure accurate medical information reaching patients in the most vibrant and entertaining way possible, that actually encourages them to consume more healthcare-related content while also making informed choices.
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