Nearly 90 Percent of Social Media Users Turn To Internet For Health Information
By Anna Johnson on November 30th, 2009Research by Euro RSCG Life shows that nearly 9 out of 10 social media users turn to the Internet for health-related information.
Euro RSCG Life surveyed 1,228 social media users, analyzing thousands of verbatims and other conversations across blogs, Twitter and online forums, then conducted a follow-up survey of more than 520 social media users, with a focus on health-related information.
The company presented its results at the recent United States Food and Drug Administration hearing “Promotion of Food and Drug Administration-regulated medical products using the Internet and social media tools.”
The firm found that:
- Nearly 9 out of 10 social media users considered the Internet a reputable source of health-related information and would use it as a resource.
- More than 80 percent had previously used the Internet for information about a particular treatment and 44 percent said they would also use social media for similar information.
- Of those who had previously researched treatment information on the Internet, 28 percent were comfortable with the level of safety information currently provided, whilst more than a third wanted to see more safety information.
- Nearly one-third take the information they find on the Internet to initiate a conversation with their doctor, while another third use that information to develop their own health plan.
- Even when it didn’t prompt a doctor-patient dialogue, two-thirds of respondents regarded social media as a helpful source of health information when they eventually spoke to their doctors.
