scholarly journals Young People’s Use of Digital Health Technologies in the Global North: Narrative Review (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Lupton
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Global North ◽  
Health Support

BACKGROUND A diverse array of digital technologies are available to children and young people living in the Global North to monitor, manage, and promote their health and well-being. OBJECTIVE This article provides a narrative literature review of the growing number of social research studies published over the past decade that investigate the types of digital technologies used by children and young people in the Global North, in addition to investigating which of these technologies they find most useful or not useful. Key findings as well as major gaps and directions for future research are identified and discussed. METHODS A comprehensive search of relevant publications listed in Google Scholar was conducted, supported by following citation trails of these publications. The findings are listed under type of digital technology used for health: cross-media, internet, social media, apps and wearable devices, sexual health support and information, and mental health support and information. RESULTS Many young people in the Global North are active users of digital health technologies. However, it is notable that they still rely on older technologies, such as websites and search engines, to find information. Apps and platforms that may not have been specifically developed for young people as digital health resources often better suit their needs. Young people appreciate the ready availability of information online, the opportunities to learn more about their bodies and health states, and the opportunities to learn how to improve their health and physical fitness. They enjoy being able to connect with peers, and they find emotional support and relief from distress by using social media platforms, YouTube, and online forums. Young people can find the vast reams of information available to them difficult to navigate. They often look to trusted adults to help them make sense of the information they find online and to provide alternative sources of information and support. Face-to-face interactions with these trusted providers remain important to young people. Risks and harms that young people report from digital health use include becoming overly obsessed with their bodies’ shape and size when using self-tracking technologies and comparing their bodies with the social media influencers they follow. CONCLUSIONS Further details on how young people are using social media platforms and YouTube as health support resources and for peer-to-peer sharing of information, including attention paid to the content of these resources and the role played by young social media influencers and microcelebrities, would contribute important insights to this body of literature. The role played by visual media, such as GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) and memes, and social media platforms that have recently become very popular with young people (eg, Snapchat and TikTok) in health-related content creation and sharing requires more attention by social researchers seeking to better understand young people’s use of digital devices and software for health and fitness.

scholarly journals Young People’s Perspectives on and Experiences of Health-Related Social Media, Apps, and Wearable Health Devices

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria A. Goodyear ◽  
Kathleen M. Armour
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Wearable Devices ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Shape Influence

: It has been reported from numerous international and socio-economic contexts that young people are becoming increasingly interested in and/or using social media, apps, and wearable devices for their health. Yet, there are few robust empirical accounts on the types of health-related information young people find, select, and use, the reasons for their choices, and how young people use these technologies in a way that influences their health-related knowledge and behaviors. This paper synthesizes findings from three separate projects that investigated over 1600 young people’s (age 13–19) perspectives on and experiences of health-related social media, apps, and wearable health devices. The findings show that young people are both critical and vulnerable users and generators of digital health technologies. Many young people experience a range of positive benefits for their physical activity, diet/nutritional, and body image related behaviors. Yet there are a number of risks, and young people report on the power of digital health technologies to shape, influence, and change their health-related behaviors. The paper concludes by providing new and evidence-based direction and guidance on how relevant adults (including teachers, parents/guardians, health professionals/practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers) can better understand and support young people’s engagement with digital health technologies.

scholarly journals Looking for Medical Advice in Everyday Digital Spaces: A Qualitative Study of Indians Connecting with Physicians on Facebook

2021 ◽  
pp. 025609092110231
Author(s):  
Smeeta Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Medical Advice ◽  
Medical Council ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Neoliberal Governmentality ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Digital Spaces

In a world afflicted by COVID-19, many people consult doctors through a digital interface or over the phone, as face-to-face consultations are almost impossible during a lockdown. The Medical Council of India and the NITI Aayog, a policy think tank, formulated new guidelines to empower medical practitioners to practice telemedicine in India in March 2020. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world and made digital consultations a necessity in specific cases, academic studies located within a health promotion framework in Western contexts indicated that patients have been very much interested in using social media tools to communicate with their physicians. Previous studies have also highlighted the advantages of information and communication technologies for patient–doctor interaction. Since changes introduced by digital health technologies have primarily been analysed from such health promotion perspectives that often adopt a ‘techno-utopian’ lens ( Lupton, 2013 ), it becomes imperative to critically interrogate how such changes construct specific subjectivities and shape our understandings of health and normative healthcare practices. Specifically, scholars have highlighted how social media platforms and apps act as ‘performative devices’ ( Johnson, 2014 ) that influence ‘everyday management of illness and health’ and help create the ideal of the ‘digitally engaged patient’ ( Lupton, 2013 ). In the Indian context, media reports highlight a growing trend in the use of social media platforms and apps by physicians and patients. However, academic research on such emerging phenomena in this country is still scarce. This exploratory study examines why some Indians connect with physicians on a social media platform such as Facebook, the nature of communication between them and their understandings of health. It uses in-depth interviews and draws upon neoliberal governmentality as a theoretical anchor. The findings show how the internalization of neoliberal values and assumptions are associated with participants’ search for lifestyle and medical advice in everyday digital spaces such as Facebook. This study strives to extend the concept of neoliberal governmentality to performances in everyday digital spaces such as Facebook. In terms of practical implications, the results of the study highlight the critical need for policies that regulate the medical content available in social media spaces. Most importantly, some of the issues highlighted by the participants in this study can help policymakers take adequate precautions while formulating guidelines on digital consultations, especially during pandemics and their aftermath when there is tremendous pressure to promote telemedicine.

scholarly journals “… They don’t really listen to people”

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Creswick ◽  
Liz Dowthwaite ◽  
Ansgar Koene ◽  
Elvira Perez Vallejos ◽  
Virginia Portillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Content Type ◽  
General Data Protection Regulation ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
General Data ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The voices of children and young people have been largely neglected in discussions of the extent to which the internet takes into account their needs and concerns. This paper aims to highlight young people’s lived experiences of being online. Design/methodology/approach Results are drawn from the UnBias project’s youth led discussions, “Youth Juries” with young people predominantly aged between 13 and 17 years. Findings Whilst the young people are able to use their agency online in some circumstances, many often experience feelings of disempowerment and resignation, particularly in relation to the terms and conditions and user agreements that are ubiquitous to digital technologies, social media platforms and other websites. Practical implications Although changes are afoot as part of the General Data Protection Regulation (herein the GDPR) to simplify the terms and conditions of online platforms (European Union, 2016), it offers little practical guidance on how it should be implemented to children. The voices and opinions of children and young people are put forward as suggestions for how the “clear communication to data subjects” required by Article 12 of the GDPR in particular should be implemented, for example, recommendations about how terms and conditions can be made more accessible. Originality/value Children and young people are an often overlooked demographic of online users. This paper argues for the importance of this group being involved in any changes that may affect them, by putting forward recommendations from the children and young people themselves.

Digitisation of Youth Work and an Evaluation of Social Media as a Tool in Meeting the Profession's Core Principles in a UK Context

2020 ◽  
pp. 127-152
Author(s):  
Luke Gaspard ◽  
Paul Olaitan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Child Neglect ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Youth Engagement ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Contributory Factors ◽  
Victorian Period

While some commentators have rightly questioned characterisations of the 20th century as the ‘Century of the child,' sociologists have gone as far as claim a more accurate title would be that of the ‘Century of child neglect.‘ In this respect, numerous provisions from the late Victorian period onward, many enacted through legislation, within the fields of social care, youth justice, education, and welfare all help to characterise the immense strides made in drawing the care and interests of children and young people more centrally into the focus and attention of policymakers and society more widely. These developments build on positivistic ideas of societal causation: that the structure of society, and in particular inequality, neglect and oppression, were contributory factors in the behaviours and vulnerabilities that people express and experience, and social welfare responses needed to aim to ameliorate such structural impositions. This chapter considers how digital technologies, specifically within the form of social media, figures as a form of youth engagement and outreach.

scholarly journals Can digital health save democracy? Meeting the cosmopolitical challenge of digital worlds

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 631-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Gonzalez-Polledo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Medical Conditions ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

This article explores the challenges and opportunities of social media health activisms to shape public participation in the digital future of healthcare. As health becomes ever more entangled with digital technologies, a growing ecology of digital health services promise greater individual autonomy to learn about and managing medical conditions, as well as accessing health services and engaging in forms of self-care. Cautioning against optimist visions of digital health and their promise of empowerment and autonomy, the article explores how health activisms on social media are reclaiming visions of healthcare that move beyond individual and depoliticised models of health technologies. The notion of cosmopolitics is employed to conceptualise relations between technology and health that implicate human and non-human interests in entanglements between health, morality and technology.

scholarly journals Digital Resilience Tactics of Syrian Refugees in the Netherlands: Social Media for Social Support, Health, and Identity

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512091558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghadeer Udwan ◽  
Koen Leurs ◽  
Amanda Alencar
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Media ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Identity Management ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Health Support ◽  
Systemic Violence ◽  
The Impact

The process of adjusting to a new country may carry important stressors for refugees. In the light of neoliberal policies, refugees are expected to become resilient in a local arrival infrastructure and perform a specific subjectivity based on gratefulness, adaptability, and digital sensitivity to successfully integrate. Drawing on a qualitative, in-depth case study with Syrians living in the Netherlands, this article explores the impact of the retreat of the welfare state and unfolding digital transitions on resilience tactics of marginalized people like refugees. While recognizing the systemic violence and historic trauma many refugees have experienced, we focus on how refugees are expected to and develop ways to become resilient. Three digital resilience tactics are discussed: digital social support, digital health, and digital identities. Social support was mainly sought from family, friends, organizations, and social media platforms, whereas refugees’ engagement in meaningful digital practices aimed at fostering health promotion and identity management. Our fieldwork resurfaces paradoxes of digital resilience as described by careful emotional digital labor refugees engage in when communicating with families, the role of socio-cultural factors in shaping refugees’ ICT (information and communication technology) adoption and use for health support, and negotiation of different and conflicting identity axes online. Finally, our study provides some insights into the implementation of more effective online and offline practices in the context of social and health support by host countries.

scholarly journals Body dysmorphic disorder in children and young people

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-164
Author(s):  
Chloe Watson ◽  
Sasha Ban
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Young People ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Adolescent Development ◽  
Body Dysmorphic Disorder ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Surgical Interventions ◽  
Positive Body Image

The incidence of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) in young people is increasing. Causes of BDD are related to the prevalence of social media and adolescent development, especially the role that brain neuroplasticity has on influencing perception. There are long-term impacts of BDD, including depression and suicide. Prevention and promotion of positive body image are part of the nurse's role; treatment can prevent unnecessary aesthetic surgical interventions.

scholarly journals Positive Organisational Arts-Based Youth Scholarship: Redressing Discourse on Danger, Disquiet, and Distress during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5655
Author(s):  
Ann Dadich ◽  
Katherine M. Boydell ◽  
Stephanie Habak ◽  
Chloe Watfern
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
Difficult Times

This methodological article argues for the potential of positive organisational arts-based youth scholarship as a methodology to understand and promote positive experiences among young people. With reference to COVID-19, exemplars sourced from social media platforms and relevant organisations demonstrate the remarkable creative brilliance of young people. During these difficult times, young people used song, dance, storytelling, and art to express themselves, (re)connect with others, champion social change, and promote health and wellbeing. This article demonstrates the power of positive organisational arts-based youth scholarship to understand how young people use art to redress negativity via a positive lens of agency, peace, collectedness, and calm.

scholarly journals A technology-assisted life of recovery from psychosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dror Ben-Zeev ◽  
Benjamin Buck ◽  
Sarah Kopelovich ◽  
Suzanne Meller
Keyword(s):  
Early Detection ◽  
Symptom Management ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Illness Management ◽  
Illness Management And Recovery ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Health Innovations ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum

Abstract Developments in digital health technologies have the potential to expedite and strengthen the path towards recovery for people with psychosis. This perspective piece provides a snapshot of how a range of digital technologies can be deployed to support a young adult’s efforts to cope with schizophrenia-spectrum illness. In conjunction with a day in the life of this individual, we provide examples of innovations in digital health research designed for this clinical population, as well as brief summaries of the evidence supporting the usability, feasibility, or effectiveness of each approach. From early detection to ongoing symptom management and vocational rehabilitation, this day-in-the-life vignette provides an overview of the ways in which digital health innovations could be used in concert to augment, scaffold, and enhance schizophrenia-spectrum illness management and recovery.

Digital health technology enhances resilient behaviour: evidence from the ward

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iacopo Rubbio ◽  
Manfredi Bruccoleri ◽  
Astrid Pietrosi ◽  
Barbara Ragonese
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Management Domain ◽  
Operational Failure

PurposeIn the healthcare management domain, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the role of resilience practices in improving patient safety. The purpose of this paper is to understand the capabilities that enable healthcare resilience and how digital technologies can support these capabilities.Design/methodology/approachWithin- and cross-case research methodology was used to study resilience mechanisms and capabilities in healthcare and to understand how digital health technologies impact healthcare resilience. The authors analyze data from two Italian hospitals through the lens of the operational failure literature and anchor the findings to the theory of dynamic capabilities.FindingsFive different dynamic capabilities emerged as crucial for managing operational failure. Furthermore, in relation to these capabilities, medical, organizational and patient-related knowledge surfaced as major enablers. Finally, the findings allowed the authors to better explain the role of knowledge in healthcare resilience and how digital technologies boost this role.Practical implicationsWhen trying to promote a culture of patient safety, the research suggests healthcare managers should focus on promoting and enhancing resilience capabilities. Furthermore, when evaluating the role of digital technologies, healthcare managers should consider their importance in enabling these dynamic capabilities.Originality/valueAlthough operations management (OM) research points to resilience as a crucial behavior in the supply chain, this is the first research that investigates the concept of resilience in healthcare systems from an OM perspective, with only a few authors having studied similar concepts, such as “workaround” practices.

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