Young people and their engagement with health-related social media: new perspectives

Figures & data

Table 1. Data collection methods.

Method	Description of the Method
Participatory Class Activities (n = 236, age = 13–15, m = 101, f = 135)	Young people worked in groups of 4–5 members, that were self-selected to support engagement in discussions. Each group completed a series of activities presented to them in an iBook. Data were acquired from 2 activities. Class Questionnaires (n = 236; m = 101, f = 135, age = 13–15): Each group watched a 2-minute video created by the researchers on current statistics of health-related social media use. Young people then individually completed a questionnaire, in the form of a leaflet. The class questionnaire was closed/open ended and was composed of 5 questions related to their uses of social media. Mean percentages were calculated for closed questions. Open-ended questions were categorized inductively and mean percentages were then calculated in relation to each category. Digital Pin Board (n = 53; m = 22, f = 29, mixed = 2 age = 13–15): A Pinterest digital pinboard was co-constructed with young people (phase 1) on different types of health-related images and videos available on social media. 55 images/videos were grouped into 11 categories: female body image, workouts, clean eating, sleep/mental wellbeing, motivation, physical activity, campaigns, male body image, governing body advice, commercial brands and celebrities. Inter- and intra- reliability tests were completed to confirm categorization. A level of 85% was deemed appropriate (Van der Mars, 1989) and reached before the pinboards were used. In phase 2, each group was asked to either keep or delete the images. In turn, the pinboards provided data on the categories of health-related material young people attend to and would use. Mean percentage were calculated on the categories kept across all groups.
Interviews (n = 84; age = 13–15, m = 35 f = 49)	19 interviews (20–40mins) were conducted in the same groups from the class activities. Two groups per class were interviewed (where possible). Groups were selected on the basis of offering a balanced sample on the health-related material young people access/attend to across the 10 schools and gender. Elicitation techniques were firstly used to encourage young people to discuss their pinboard. Semi-structured questions were then used to understand young people's experiences of social media, and were common across all groups. The interviews complemented data obtained from the class activities
Online Survey (n = 1016, age= 13–16, m = 334, f = 676)	The online survey was constructed based on data from phase 2 and was administered through an online platform. The online survey differed to the class questionnaire by containing 33 closed multiple choice questions organized into 8 sections: Background (gender/age/school); How do you use social media?; What do you look at on social media?; What do you do when you see a post?; What do you change if you see a post?; Do you post anything about your health?; Is social media good for your health? Mean percentages were calculated for each question.

Table 2. An illustration of the process of coding in phase 1 of analysis.

Accessed sample codes	Attended to sample codes	Representative Categories	Knowledge or Behaviour
Transformation 2 pictures Mirror Smoothies Tea Clean Eating Muscles Weights HIT Motivation	Transformation 2 pictures Mirror Smoothies Tea Clean Eating Muscles Weights HIT Motivation	Body Image (transformations, 2 pictures, mirror) Diet/Nutrition (Smoothies, Tea, Clean Eating) Physical Activity (muscles, weights, HIT)	Slim Thick Drink Tea Protein Buff Fitter Healthier Pressure Self-esteem Negative perception Jealous

Table 3. An illustration of the process of coding in phase 2 of analysis.

Interactive Functionalities of Social Media	Social purposes that orientate users	Genres	Content/Themes	Pedagogical Operations
Likes Followers Suggested Recommended Automatic Accounts Reach Images Videos Filters Selfies Search Search and Explore	Attention Search Following Friends Celebrities/consumerism Endorsement Information Credibility Shortcuts Networks	Intimacy Likes, followers, friends, following, automatic, Search and Explore, networks Information Seeking Videos, automatic, search, information, suggested, recommended Performativity Selfies, attention, images, filters, endorsement Affirmation Likes, information, credibility, friends Credibility Followers, reach, credibility, images, videos, information	Automatically Sourced Content Suggested/ Recommended Content Peer Content Likes Reputable Content	Assumptions Affect Limits Affect Affect Assumptions Affect Assumptions Affect Limits

Figure 1. The operation of pedagogy in a social media context.

Van der Mars, H. (1989). Observer reliability: Issues and procedures. In P. W. Darst, D. B. Zakrajsek, & V. H. Mancini (Eds.), Analyzing physical education and sport instruction (2nd ed, pp. 53–80). USA: Human Kinetics.

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