They Have Needs, They Have Goals: Using Communication Theories to Explain Health-Related Social Media Use and Health Behavior Change

Abstract

Today many people use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Despite extended research on the use of social media for health-related issues, little research attention has been devoted to understanding the goals and needs behind such use and its effects on health behavior. The goal of this study is to fill this research gap by employing Uses and Gratifications theory and Media System Dependency theory. The data for this study were collected through six focus groups of internet users in Israel. The findings show that people utilize a number of social media sites for health purposes, according to specific needs and goals. These needs and goals motivate individuals to choose timing, search language and search topics and to establish criteria for assessing the quality of information and its publishers. The social media is perceived to influence health behavior on different levels.