Social media, dietetic practice and misinformation: A triangulation research

Abstract

Understanding the credibility of social media to produce reliable and factual content is crucial especially in the field of health communication. Social media carries information in multiple layers which is often supported with photographs, images, audio video clips of health experts/trainers, which is further not backed by any sort of certification. Blogs, twitter, Instagram and Facebook are few tools which keep regularly update and track the followers, members as peers on social media. Facebook attracts the maximum and could be considered as power house of such information. It is assumed that some of the groups loading daily dose of fitness might not exist without Facebook. In the present study triangulation method of research is applied to evaluate the awareness and application of information related to diet for health, fitness and reduce body weight. To study interdependencies the research focused on content floated on social media and dietetic practice adopted by the respondents. The research had quantitative and qualitative approach. A survey was conducted by developing a questionnaire. The primary data was collected from 200 respondents of Jalandhar district. The study strives to examine the information on social media and its adaptation in routine life among different age groups.