The role of social media in children and young people's health information seeking

Abstract

As social media becomes more prevalent in the lives of children and young people, these digital spaces are increasingly becoming part of their health information seeking. This article is the first in a series of three investigating the role of social media, health mis/information and children. It provides an overview of social media and its prevalence among children and young people in the UK. Increasingly, young people are obtaining health information from social media and there are concerns about the possibility that children and young people could be vulnerable to health misinformation in these user-generated content platforms. However, it is also important to recognise the perceived benefits of these information sources for children and young people.