Does Social Media Promote or Hinder Health Learning? The Roles of Media Attention, Information Discussion, Information Elaboration, and Information Seeking Experience

ABSTRACT

Social media has become an important avenue for learning. However, the mechanisms underlying social media use and its influence on knowledge are not clear. Based on the cognitive mediation model, this study explored the pathways through which social media use was linked to health knowledge, taking into account different information acquisition patterns (e.g., media attention vs. information discussion), information processing (e.g., elaboration), and information seeking experience. With a cross-sectional survey conducted in China (N = 1,350), this study found that paying attention to health information on social media had a direct and positive relationship with health knowledge. However, discussing such information was negatively associated with knowledge. Media attention also had a positive relationship with information discussion. Both media attention and information discussion were positively related to information elaboration, which in turn, had a positive association with health knowledge. Also, the poor quality of health information seeking experience weakened the relationship between social media use and elaborative processing. This study provides important implications for health communication research and practice in the digital era.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research received financial support from the Next Big Idea Award (Seed Category), Lloyd’s Register Foundation Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk.

Notes on contributors

Shaohai Jiang

Shaohai Jiang (PhD, Texas A&M University) is an assistant professor at the Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore. His research interests include health communication, new media, and strategic communication. His research primarily looks at how communication and technology can improve people’s health outcomes. Specifically, his projects examine patient-provider communication, eHealth and mHealth, and health campaigns and interventions.