Health communication via social media – Are our audience ready yet? – Preliminary findings from an online social media survey among a highly educated sample

Purpose: The rapid adoption and advancement of the Internet and social media presents new opportunities for health communication and informatics.  This study examined Internet and social media use among a highly educated sample to learn perspectives from these normally early adopters on new technologies.  Methods: An online survey was administered to a convenience sample of individuals in higher education settings.  Utilization of four major social media platforms was examined.  Results: A total of 253 individuals participated and 77% had college or higher education.  Majority were females (75%), 30% married, with mean age of 29 (SD=9.8) years.  Over 95% used Internet everyday and majority spent 3-5 hours per day.  Facebook and Youtube were the most frequently used social media, with over 55% have used for 3+ years.  On the other hand, over 60% participants reported “never” used Linkedin or Twitter, or planned to become more active user.  Most individuals “read” or “like”, and sometimes post own or comment others’ posts.  Self-rated knowledge and skills were high for the Internet but medium for social media.  Over 80% indicated Internet is important, while over 50% thought social media is not very important.  Conclusion:  Findings indicate social media utilization significantly differed by platform and majority participated in low engagement activities such as “read” or “like”.  Future research is needed to examine ways for encouraging higher engagement activities or becoming more active users.  The study has implications on assessing engagement level and selecting appropriate social media platforms for potential social media health interventions.