Proponents of social media argue that it democratizes information and allows for easier access to diverse sources, while critics claim that it leads to the spread of dangerous disinformation. Although both sides have valid points, I will attempt to provide a more balanced viewpoint.
Those who support the permission to publish information on the field of health to social media platforms is a good opportunity for scholars to take advantage of it, learning from the valuable experience from many scientists over the world, to conduct their deep research leading to further development of the healthcare system. It may have a positive impact on the finding out new effective treatment approaches or improvement of existing methods. Additionally, it helps to enhance the level of knowledge about self healthcare, providing access to diverse health recommendations from specialists. As social networking websites are the most used by individuals it contributes to awareness about causes of occurrence of a lot of types of health diseases, forming the basis for prevention.
However, taking into account all posted data doesn’t mean it is accurate. People should filter them by recognizing the misinformation in order to avoid unexpected side effects. For example, studies suggest almost half of the people are not able to do that, accordingly it is better if the government takes control of social media platforms, allowing them only reliable and verified facts to publicize.
In my opinion, both perspectives should be considered with additions: Firstly, democratized health information before publishing needs to be filtered and checked for accuracy and approved by professionals. Secondly, people can protect themselves from fake advice and disinformation in social media by paying attention to checking the original sources they consume online.
In conclusion, while social media platforms have been hailed for democratising information, they have also been criticized for the risk of spreading dangerous disinformation. I believe that both sides can coexist if certain measures such as developing strategies to verify the accuracy of information and promoting media literacy education are taken.