With access to a never-ending stream of online information, some Gen Z men are turning to social media for health advice.
According to a recent study from the Cleveland Clinic, one in three Gen Z men in the U.S. use social media for health information.
The study surveyed 1,000 American men over the age of 18 over the summer and compared the health concerns of American men of different generations.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “While all generations agree that health care providers are the number one source of health information and advice, access to other sources varies by age.” “Gen Z men are the most likely to pay attention to social media of all generations.”
Experts interviewed by CNBC Make It in April say it’s important to fact-check health advice online. Here are four signs they shared for spotting health misinformation online.
Four signs of online medical misinformation
“We often see people being fooled by misinformation, but they don’t take a second to do these basic checks,” says Scott, author of What The Fact?!: Finding the Truth in All. One Dr. Seema Yasmin says: the Noise” is a guide to media literacy.
Here are some indicators that online posts are sharing health misinformation, according to professors Yasmin Freelon and Dean Freelon of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
It seems too good to be true. You should question the accuracy of health information that includes words such as “cured, 100% effective.” [and] It affects your emotions. Posts of health information that prompt an emotional response are designed to “deceive us into lies” that can be shared with others, Yasmin said. “They’re selling treatments you’ve never heard of and aren’t backed by science,” Freelon said. “If you see a social media post promoting an alternative treatment for a disease, be skeptical about its credibility. We should,” he said. And double check that it is shared by a trusted medical provider. “There are a lot of people who have business models built around this,” Freelon said. [like] It’s just science fiction,” Freelon said. “Once you start asking even the most basic questions, things start to fall apart.”
Yasmin and Freelon suggest always identifying the source of health information you come across online. Freelon said Yasmin considers whether the source is “really the person you should be talking about on this subject” or whether they have a “long track record of distributing medically dubious information.” Ta.
You should always seek out reliable news sources for health information, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or your state health agency, to see if they have reported claims similar to those you have seen online.
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