Public Health Campaigns and Communities
There’s nothing worse in life than waking up in the morning with your arm feeling a little tender, your head a little sore, and your throat a little dry, only to find out that these symptoms are not the result of your Friday night house party fall, but, instead, Cancer. Ah, that old chestnut! But surely, you ask yourself, I’m just a little dehydrated from all the Smirnoff Vodka..? Nope. It’s Cancer. Dehydration is a symptom. And you’re now the carrier. Thanks Dr. Google, what would we do without you?
Whilst this scenario is surely a little embellished for dramatic effect, the idea of internet users making such irrational, or perhaps uneducated, assumptions about their own health status is not as novel as one might expect (or hope). In 2017, Business Insider posted a think piece around the dangers of a new disease sweeping the connected world: Cyberchondria. That is, the “tendency to self-diagnose health problems online to anxiety-producing results,” or the use of, as some like to say, ‘Dr. Google,’ (Bernard, 2017, pp.1). Having spent eight years of my youth working the reception desk of my parents’ suburban Veterinary Clinic, I can vouch for the proliferation of self-made medical professionals... no Sally, we do indeed need to see your dog in the flesh before we sign away a year’s worth of medication...
This suggestion of the ‘anxiety-producing’ results of cyberchondria reflect the dilemma of health and social media discourse; the two sides of the sword, if you will. It is true the benefits of social media’s growing spread of awareness and public discourse around healthy communities and practices is tangible, evident, for example, through the power of the “language of story” in the To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) campaign, (Milner, 2012, pp.426). Nonetheless, one cannot ignore the resulting failures of this information spread in personal self-image, anxieties, and the setting of (often unattainable or edited) health and beauty standards in the online world.
As researcher Anthony McCosker suggests, social media profiles “built on conveying healthy and successful lifestyles are big business,” and it is no surprise that many ‘fitspo influencers’ have celebrated huge success within the last decade, particularly in the Instagram and YouTube spaces, (2016, pp.1). Australian health blogger, Ashy Bines, is one such 'fitness guru’ who has come into controversy around the validity and credibility of the health information she promotes. Despite operating a number of businesses under the guise of her personal training ability, it recently came to light that Bines has no formal fitness instruction qualifications. Furthermore, Bines’ heavy use of ‘Greens powder,’ a powder designed to “support the body to maintain its pH by supplying green plant pigments,” in her toddler son’s diet did not impress social media audiences as a representation of healthy living, particularly given the child’s age and developmental needs, (Morlife, 2017, pp.1). And yet, after multiple such controversies, she still celebrates almost 900,000 followers on Instagram alone.
Against this backdrop of failings in the “perceived credibility of Internet sources... [and issues] of digital literacy,” it is crucial not to forget the companies and movements forging positive growth in community health and discourse online; Movember has managed to “[engage] a hard to reach group, men,” who are often stereotyped as commonly “[rebuffing] health and wellbeing issues,” (Burgess et al, 2014, pp.1). However, as with good health comes good balance, social media also forces the balance between positive and negative; it is important to remember that we as humans and as publics need to talk, connect, and share information around sensitive issues, even when difficult, if not just to remind ourselves that we are, truly, not alone.
Bernard, Z 2017. ‘If you’re addicted to diagnosing your health problems online, you might be suffering from cyberchondria,” Business Insider Australia, Allure Media, accessible at <https://www.businessinsider.com.au/cyberchondria-definition-symptoms-anxiety-meaning-2017-11?r=US&IR=T>
Burgess, J, Cassidy, E, & Light, B 2014. ‘Deeply Superficial Digital Media Engagement? The Case of Twitter and Movember,’ Paper presented at AoIR 15, Daegu, Korea.
McCosker, A 2016. ‘Digital Mental Health and Visibility: Tagging Depression,’ in P. Messaris and L. Humphreys, Digital Media: Transformations i Human Communication, 2nd Edn, Peter Lang.
Milner, R. M 2012. ‘To Write Love Through the Indie Imaginary: The Narrative Argument of a Mediated Movement,’ Continuum, 26:3.
Morlife, 2017. ‘Inside Alkalising Greens: what are the ingredients and their benefits?’ Lifestyle: What’s Inside Alkalising Greens? Morlife Pty Ltd.
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