Nowadays everyone and their mothers are using social media in some sort of way. Some use it as a way to let people know what they are up to throughout the day, businesses and organizations use it to promote themselves, and people use it to network with people they may not see every day. People are now finding more creative ways to utilize social media.
Research has shown that using Twitter could increase mortality rates from heart disease. This study was done on a county-by county basis. Of course some levels would be higher than others based on income and whatnot in specific communities, but social media may not be so bad for us after all if we live in places with happy people who post happy things.
Thinking about this could benefit mental and physical health, but does this mean that Twitter should be used in hospital settings now? Those who are dying from heart disease are usually not the ones using Twitter. Those dying are older generations who mostly likely have never seen a Twitter feed. If this study holds truth, how will Twitter and doctors find ways to market Twitter to elderly people and get them to use it for the purposes of creating and viewing positive content to increase their mortality rate? Is it worth putting in hospitals? I would like to hear your thoughts.
http://www.psmag.com/navigation/nature-and-technology/happier-tweets-healthier-communities-98710/
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