It would be weird to have that on Facebook

Young People's Use of Social Media and the Risk of Sharing Sexual Health Information

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3972211
AutoresPaul Byron (0000-0001-6591-3060, UNSW Sydney), K Albury (0000-0001-9043-8126, UNSW Sydney), Cécile Evers (0000-0002-7876-1649, University of Nottingham Ningbo China), Clifton Evers
Año2013
Volumen21
Número41
Páginas35-44
Fecha de publicación2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReproductive Health Matters (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0968-8080 • E-ISSN: 1460-9576
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/s0968-8080(13)41686-5
PMID23684185
OpenAlexW1973525802
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas30
Referencias citadas28

In today's media environment, information is not simply passed from producers to consumers, but is mediated by participants of new media cultures, including information on sexual health. In focus groups held in Sydney and regional Australia in 2011, we asked young people aged 16-22 about the potential for sexual health promotion via Facebook and other social media. Our findings point to the complex ways in which young people use social media, and the unlikelihood of traditional take-home sexual health messages having traction in social media spaces. Five key aspects which emerged were: the participatory culture of social network sites; the stigma of sexual health, especially sexually transmitted infections (STIs); young people's careful presentations of self; privacy concerns; and the importance of humour in sexual health messaging. Fears of bullying and gossip (or 'drama') were also likely to prevent the dissemination of sexual health messages in this environment. However, humorous online videos were noted by participants as a significant way to avoid stigma and enable the sharing of sexual health information. The young people in our study were interested in sexual health information, but did not want to access it at the cost of their own sense of comfort and belonging in their social networks. Any sexual health promotion within these sites must be understood as a site-specific intervention

Environmental health · Health promotion · Internet privacy · Political science · Population · Public health · Reproductive health · Social media · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology