Social networking holds significant promise for engaging people in health and changing health behaviors. Two thirds-of people try to change their health behavior each year; 50% do not sustain those behavior changes, learned by the 2011 Edelman Health Barometer survey. When people connect to a social network of peers, though, commitment to behavior change is bolstered and supported, as the research of Christakis and his colleagues has found.
2 in 3 U.S. adults use social media, according to the Pew Internet Civic Tracking survey conducted in July-August 2012. More women than men use social networking sites. But a growing proportion of seniors does, too, up to 38% in 2012
Furthermore, mobile platforms are fast becoming enabling technology for social networking in health. In 2012, 26% of people with at least one or more chronic conditions used their cell phones to look up health information online.