Social media is changing the way women use online health
information (BPT) - Social media continues to shape our everyday
lives, so it's no surprise that the rise of social media is also
transforming how we use the Internet to enhance our health. For
example, 61 percent of Americans go online for health
information, according to the Pew Research Center . Of that
percentage, women in particular, find health information gained
through online resources like social media to be especially
useful. With busy, demanding lives, a trip to the doctor's
office or a phone call to a nurse's hotline is not always
possible, let alone convenient - particularly if the issue is
more of an annoyance than threat. Plus, women tend to gravitate
toward communities where they can talk among "friends" before
bothering their doctor about their symptoms. And, in situations
where women avoid dealing with health issues - like heavy
periods or bladder leakage - they tend to internalize them
because they're embarrassed. Talking about these