Social Media and Military Families: A Perspective

Abstract

The role that social media plays in the lives of military families is enormous, whether the service person is on duty in the United States, overseas, or in a war zone. It also plays a role in the reintegration of military personnel into civilian life. Definitions and concepts of social media, health, and well-being are presented. The authors examine the military response to the phenomena of social media. The authors raise questions about the future role of research in documenting the potential effects of social media on the psychosocial health and well-being of service men and women and their families.

Keywords:

• Social media
• deployment
• well-being
• service men and women

Notes

This article development is supported in part by NIMHD/Health Disparities Research Center of Excellence: ZP20MD00516-05A1. Views expressed are those of the authors and not those of the funding agency.