Synonyms
Definition
Social networking sites, sometimes characterized under the umbrella term social media, are virtual communities or networks that allow individuals, communities, and organizations to create and disseminate user-generated content including but not limited to pictures, videos, text, memes, and profile pages for individuals or groups; social media content has greater virality than other web-based content. By connecting a user’s profile (maintained by the social media organization) to other individuals or groups, social networks are formed. Well-known social media sites include Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. When social networking sites were first popularized, the average users were emerging adults, but now users represent a wide range of ages, races, and places of residence.
Description
Social media encompasses all online platforms on which media content is uploaded, and social networking sites are...
References and Further Readings
Balatsoukas, P., & Kennedy, C. M. (2015). The role of social network technologies in online health promotion: A narrative review of theoretical and empirical factors influencing intervention effectiveness. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(6), e141. doi:10.2196/jmir.3662.
Cheung, Y. T. D., Chan, C. H. H., Lai, C. K. J., Chan, W. F. V., Wang, M. P., Li, H. C. W., Chan, S. S. C., & Lam, T. H. (2015). Using whatsapp and facebook online social groups for smoking relapse prevention for recent quitters: A pilot pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(10), e238. doi:10.2196/jmir.4829.
Dagan, N., & Beskin, D. (2015). Effects of social network exposure on nutritional learning: Development of an online educational platform. JMIR Serious Games, 3(2), e7. doi:10.2196/games.4002.
Eysenbach, G., Powell, J., Englesakis, M., Rizo, C., & Stern, A. (2004). Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: Systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions. British Medical Journal, 328(7449), 1–6.
Gruzd, A., & Haythornthwaite, C. (2013). Enabling community through social media. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(10), e248. doi:10.2196/jmir.2796.
Luhmann, C. C., & Rajaram, S. (2015). Memory transmission in small groups and large networks: An agent-based model. Psychological Science, 26(12), 1909–1917. doi:10.1177/0956797615605798.
Maher, C. A., Lewis, L. K., Ferrar, K., Marshall, S., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Vandelanotte, C. (2014). Are health behavior change interventions that use online social networks effective? A systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 16(2), e40. doi:10.2196/jmir.2952.
Pagoto, S., Waring, M. E., May, C. N., Ding, E. Y., Kunz, W. H., Hayes, R., & Oleski, J. L. (2016). Adapting behavioral interventions for social media delivery. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(1), e24. doi:10.2196/jmir.5086.
Pew Research Center. (2015a). Teens, social media and technology overview 2015. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-.technology-2015/
Pew Research Center. (2015b). The smartphone difference. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/
Pew Research Center. (2015c). Technology device ownership: 2015. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/29/technology-device-ownership-2015/
Seymour, B., Getman, R., Saraf, A., Zhang, L. H., & Kalenderian, E. (2015). When advocacy obscures accuracy online: Digital pandemics of public health misinformation through an antifluoride case study. American Journal of Public Health, 105(3), 517–523. doi:10.2105/ajph.2014.302437.
Turner-McGrievy, G. M., & Beets, M. W. (2015). Tweet for health: Using an online social network to examine temporal trends in weight loss-related posts. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 5(2), 160–166. doi:10.1007/s13142-015-0308-1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Additional information
Associate Editor responsible for this entry: Dr. Ellen Beckjord
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Goldstein, C.M., Luke, A. (2016). Social Networking Sites. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101953-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101953-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine