Zain Jafar
1 
, Jonathan D. Quick
2* , Heidi J. Larson
3,4 , Verner Venegas-Vera
5 , Philip Napoli
6 , Godfrey Musuka
7 , Tafadzwa Dzinamarira
8 , Kolar Sridara Meena
9 , T. Raju Kanmani
10 , Eszter Rimányi
11 1 Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University, Durham, USA
2 Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, USA
3 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
4 Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
5 Division of Internal Medicine, Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico
6 Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, USA
7 International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), Harare, Zimbabwe
8 School of Health Sciences & Public Health, University of Pretoria, South Africa
9 Journal of Mental Health Education, Department of Mental Health Education, MIMHANS, India
10 Department of Psychiatric Social Work, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, India
11 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA
Abstract
With more than 4.26 billion social media users worldwide, social media has become a primary source of health information, exchange, and influence. As its use has rapidly expanded, social media has proven to be a “doubled-edged sword,” with considerable benefits as well as notable harms. It can be used to encourage preventive behaviors, foster social connectivity for better mental health, enable health officials to deliver timely information, and connect individuals to reliable information. But social media also has contributed to public health crises by exacerbating a decline in public trust, deteriorating mental health (especially in young people), and spreading dangerous misinformation. These realities have profound implications for health professionals, social media companies, governments, and users. We discuss promising guidelines, digital safety practices, and regulations on which to build a comprehensive approach to healthy use of social media. Concerted efforts from social media companies, governments, users, public interest groups, and academia are essential to mitigate the harms and unlock the benefits of this powerful new technology.