Youth, health and social networks: Instagram as a research tool for health communication

Authors

  • Natàlia Carceller-Maicas Medical Anthropology Research Center of the Rovira i Virgili University (Tarragona, Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.6.6555

Keywords:

youth, emotional distress, methodological innovations, self-management of health, Instagram

Abstract

Communication is key in the field of health, and the digital age did nothing but increase its importance. Today, the Internet and the new mass media have become basic communication tools, which in the case of young people, are sometimes essential. Most youngsters in the Western world have a latest generation mobile phone, which they use to communicate, access social networks and share their experiences instantly with their friends. Including communication tools such as Instagram in youth health fieldwork poses a number of challenges, but also has the potential for social health research, allowing us to reach young people and enrich research ethnographically.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Natàlia Carceller-Maicas, Medical Anthropology Research Center of the Rovira i Virgili University (Tarragona, Spain).

Medical anthropologist and member of the Medical Anthropology Research Centre at the Rovira i Virgili University (Tarragona, Spain), where she is currently performing research for her PhD. She is an expert on youth, emotions and drugs and is the author of several scientific and technical texts on youth, adolescence, emotions, drugs, mental health and participatory research-action.  

References

Ardévol, E., & Muntañola, N. (Coords.). (2004). Representación y cultura audiovisual en la sociedad contemporánea. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

Ardévol, E., Roig, A., & Gómez-Cruz, E. (2010). Pràctiques creatives i participació en els nous mèdia. Quaderns del CAC, 34, 27–36.

Barragán, A. (2005). La interrelación de los distintos modelos médicos en la atención del dolor crónico en un grupo de pacientes con neuralgia posherpética. Cuicuilco, 12(33), 61–78.

Best, P., Manktelow, R., & Taylor, B. (2014). Online communication, social media and adolescent wellbeing: A systematic narrative review. Children and Youth Services Review, 41, 27–36. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.03.001

Cárdenas, C. (2006). Imágenes de trabajo. Reflexiones hacia una antropología visual aplicada. El caso del proyecto internacional juvenil Barrios del Mundo y su enfoque comunicativo. Revista Chilena de Antropología Visual, 8, 24–46.

Carter, D. (2005). Living in virtual communities: An ethnography of human relationships in cyberspace. Information, Communication & Society, 8, 148–167. doi: 10.1080/13691180500146235

Forbes. (2015, 14 May). Las 5 redes sociales con más crecimiento en 2015. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com.mx/las-5-redes-sociales-con-mas-crecimiento-en-2015

Instagram. (2015, 22 September). Celebrating a community of 400 milion. Instagram. Retrieved from blog.instagram.com/post/129662501137/150922-400million

Ito, M., Okade, D., & Matsuba, M. (2005). Personal, portable, pedestrian: Mobile phones in Japanese life. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Lasén Díaz, A. (2006). Lo social como movilidad: usos y presencia del teléfono móvil. Política y Sociedad, 43(2), 153–167.

Latour, B. (1992). Where are the missing masses? The sociology of a few mundane artifacts. In W. E. Bijker, & J. Law (Eds.), Shaping technology/building society: Studies in sociotechnical change (pp. 225–258). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Lisón Arcal, J. C. (1999). Una propuesta para iniciarse en la antropología visual. Revista de Antropología Social, 1, 5–35.

McIntosh, J. (2010). Mobile phones and Mipoho’s prophecy: The powers and dangers of flying language. American Ethnologist, 37(2), 337–353. doi: 10.1111/j.1548-1425.2010.­01259.x

Menéndez, E. (2009). De sujetos, saberes y estructuras. Introducción al enfoque relacional en el estudio de la salud colectiva. Buenos Aires: Lugar Editorial.

Pereira da Silva, S. L., & Pires, M. D. C. F. (2008). Identidades visuales: Vídeo y fotografía en las formas de representación de la identidad de Rio de Janeiro. In E. Ardévol, A. Estalella & D. Domínguez (Coords.), La mediación tecnológica en la práctica etnográfica (pp. 39–147). Sant Sebastià: Ankulegi Antropologia Elkartea.

Pichardo Galán, J. I. (2008). Etnografía y nuevas tecnologías: Reflexiones desde el terreno. In E. Ardévol, A. Estalella, & D. Domínguez (Coords.). La mediación tecnológica en la práctica etnogràfica (pp. 131–149). San Sebastián: Ankulegi Antropologia Elkartea.

Purita, G. (2015). Análisis de las tendencias de uso y participación en las redes sociales a nivel mundial en España. Barcelona: Online Business ­School. Retrieved from http://recursos.anuncios.com/files/681/25.pdf

Rubio, A. (2010). Jóvenes en red, generación digital y cambio social. In: Ciutadania Jove 2.0. XXVIII Jornades de Polítiques Locals de Joventut. Barcelona. Retrieved from http://www.diba.cat/documents/95670/96986/­joventut-fitxers-2010rubio-pdf.pdf

Van House, N., Davis, M., Takhteyev, Y., Ames, M., & Finn, M. (2004). The social uses of personal photography: Methods for projecting future imaging applications. Berkeley School of Information. Retrieved from http:// people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~vanhouse/van%20house_et_al_2004b%20.pdf

Wood, M. A., Bukowski, W. M., & Lis, E. (2015). The digital self: How social media serves as a setting that shapes youth’s emotional experiences. Adolescent Research Review. doi: 10.1007/s40894-015-0014-8

Downloads

Published

2016-04-15

How to Cite

Carceller-Maicas, N. (2016). Youth, health and social networks: Instagram as a research tool for health communication. Metode Science Studies Journal, (6), 227–233. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.6.6555
Metrics
Views/Downloads
  • Abstract
    1735
  • PDF
    540

Issue

Section

Communicating health. Medical outreach efforts in the media

Metrics

Similar Articles

> >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.