Social media used as a health intervention in adolescent health: A systematic review of the literature

OBJECTIVE: Adolescents are known to be high users of social media, and social media is beginning to be used in health care. The primary objective of this review was to determine the current state of play on the use of social media as a health intervention in addressing the health of adolescents. METHODS: Six databases were searched: CINAHL, Medline, Scopus, ProQuest, Psych Info and Science Direct, from 2000–2013. The review process followed PRISMA guidelines with quality assessments of the selected articles undertaken. RESULTS: Three studies used social media as a health intervention in adolescent health. Facebook was the social media of choice. The way this social media tool was incorporated as the intervention varied. None of the social media interventions had a significant or sustained impact on the primary outcomes of the studies reviewed. Measures of social media process were limited and lacked meaning. CONCLUSIONS: The selected papers provided insight into the beginning phase of using social media as a health intervention to address adolescent health. The review highlights three important areas for consideration when undertaking research on the use of social media as a health intervention for adolescents: the newness of using social media as a health intervention, the importance of the use of rigorous methodological processes when using social media as a health intervention, and the need to develop further knowledge on adolescents’ use of social media, in particular their hidden world of social media.