1. Social Networking and
Health Education
a HEDIR webinar
by Jody Early, Ph.D., M.S., CHES

2. Learning Objectives
• Define social networking.
• Discuss current research and statistics
relating to social networking.
• Compare and contrast different types of
social media used in social networking.
• Describe how social networking is
relevant to health education.
• Suggest strategies for integrating social
networking into the health education
classroom and the field.

3. What is Social
Networking?*
*And why is it important?

4. Definition
The practice of expanding social
and/or professional relationships
through electronic media. (Voelkel, 2010)

5. Social Media:
The platform you use to communicate
and collaborate online such as
Facebook or Twitter.

6. Social Networking:
What you DO with social media!
Following the events in Haiti on Youtube Dr. Early’s dog, Riot, even makes use of
(CBS News.com, 2010) social media!

7. Social Networking: Past vs. Present
Past Present

8. Evolution of Social Media and
Social Networking
The Internet EVOLVES…
From Web 1.0, to Web 2.0, and on to Web 3.0…..
Web 2.0 = movement away from static web pages
to dynamic and shareable content
• INTERACTIVE

9. Web 2.0
•“It is….made BY and FOR
the people….”
•(Hanson et al., 2008)

10. •Web 2.0 (and social networking) “has the
potential to establish and empower
larger communities of users than
traditional media.”
•“….it can become another useful health
communication tool to support empowerment
and social change.”
Source:
•Hanson, C.H., Thackeray, R., Barnes, M., Neiger, B., & McIntyre, E. (2008).
Integrating Web 2.0 in Health Education Preparation and Practice. American Journal of
Health Education. Vol 39(3), pp. 157-164.

11. Web 3.0
“The Semantic Web”: Application and
information sharing across platforms.

12. Is Social
Networking a
Fad or a
Permanent
Fixture or our
global society?

13. Facts about Social Networking
“Social networking has become a fundamental
part of the global online experience.”
John Burbank, CEO of Nielson Online
•Two-thirds of the world’s internet population
visit social networking or blogging sites.
•Social networking accounts for 17% of all
internet time (up 7% from 2008).
(Nielson, 2009)

14. “….that percentage is likely to grow as time spent on
social network and blogging sites is growing more
than three times the rate of overall internet growth.”
Source: Social networking’s new global footprint. (March 9, 2009). Nielsen Wire. Retrieved from
http://blog.nielson.com/nielsenwire/global/social-networking-new-global-footprint/

15. Consider These Facts:
•By 2010, Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers.
•96% of these Gen Y’s who are online have joined a social
networking site
•Social Networking has overtaken porn as the number one activity
on the web!
•One in eight couples married in the U.S. last year met via social
media.
•Years to reach 50 million users:
--Radio = 38 years
--TV = 13 years
--Internet = 4 years
--Ipod = 3 years
--Facebook (social media) reached 100 million in less than 9
months
--Ipod applications hit over 1 billion in 9 months
•If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th largest country
in the world.
(Source: Qualman, E. (2009). Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. New York: John Wiley

17. Fastest Growing Sector of Social
Networkers: Women
The Power of Social Networking
For Women Research Study was
conducted by female-oriented
social networking site
ShesConnected:
Participants in the survey (n =
749) were recruited through
several social networks and were
encouraged to share it with
friends.
73% reported logging in daily and
59% reported visiting multiple
social networking sites multiple
times per day.

18. Average time spent on the internet
per day in the U.S. = 27.3 minutes
Social networking is about 1/3 of
time spent, at 9-11 minutes per visit
(Nielson, 2009)

19. Implications for Health
Education?
Social Networking is an important tool
for disseminating health education!
--Share information quickly
--Reach global audience (millions)
--Create tailored messages
--Keep individuals connected

20. Audience Poll
How many of you participating in this
webcast already subscribe to at least one
social networking site? More than one?

21. *So how do I
become part of a
social network?
*Where do I need to
be online?
*How do I do it?

22. Social
Networking Sites
Every Health
Educator Should
Know About

23. Popular Social Media
for Social Networking
• Blogs: Blogger, LiveJournal, Open Diary, TypePad,
WordPress, Xanga
• Micro-blogging : Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous
• Social networking: Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, Bebo,
Facebook, Ning
• Social Bookmarking: Delicious, StumbleUpon, Google
Reader, CiteULike
• Social news: Digg, Mixx, Reddit, NowPublic
• Photography and art sharing: Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa,
SmugMug, Zooomr; Snapfish
• Video sharing: YouTube, Teachertube; Vimeo
• Livecasting: Ustream.tv, Justin.tv, Vcast Live; Stickam, Skype
• Music and audio sharing:, Audiofarm; Rhapsody; ITunes,
Odeo; Airfoil
• Wikis: Wikipedia; PBWiki; Google docs; Twiki (for enterprise)

24. The Main Players

25. Facebook
MySpace
LinkedIn
•HISTORY: • HISTORY: • HISTORY:
•Started by students at • Open to everyone • Started in 2003
Harvard • Large number of teens • Professional
•Initially only open to • Negative media networking focus
users with a .edu email coverage • Over 43 million
domain • Emphasis on members
•Over 200 million users entertainment now
dominates • FUNCTIONALITY
•FUNCTIONALITY • Email for Registration
•Email for Registration • FUNCTIONALITY • Single Profile Photo
•Personalization: • Email for Registration • Online Resume
•Upload photos, • Personalization: • Work History
videos • Background • Recommendations
•Connect with various • Upload photos, videos • Networking
networks, groups • Connect with various • Groups
•Marketplace networks, groups • Job Listings
•Friends • Marketplace • Paid Option
• Friends • Connections
•PRIVACY SETTINGS
• PRIVACY SETTINGS • PRIVACY SETTINGS

26. “Facebook is
like a high
school
reunion 24
hours a day,
7 days a
week.”(Voelkel, 2009)
Supposedly casual, but you
want to look your best.

27. Unique Visitor Counts
Total Unique Visitors (000) Average Daily Visitors (000)
Facebook 111,888 Facebook 37,679
MySpace 57,054 MySpace 11,733
Bebo 5,932 TAGGED 1,070
TAGGED 5,712 MyYearbook 606
Higher daily than
Hi5 4,529 Hi5 520 monthly ranking =
Bebo 490
more engaged
MyYearbook 3,768
Friendster 1,949 Orkut 327
BlackPlanet 1,679 BlackPlanet 187
Multiply 1,308 Friendster 147
Orkut 1,196 Multiply 76
Source: Nielson, December 2009
27

28. Facebook Dominates Social Media

29. http://www.facebook.com
T
http://www.facebook.com/#!/he

30. Facebook
Personal Page
Personal

31. Facebook
Non-Profit
Facebook
Non-Profit

32. Facebook Academic
http://www.facebook.com/busin
Click the Pages link.

33. Facebook Advocacy
Advocacy

34. Facebook
for Research?

35. Audience Poll
How many out there subscribe to
Facebook?
How many of your academic programs
have a Facebook page?

36. LinkedIn is
the Navy
Blue suit of
social
networking
http://www.linkedin.com
Professional.

37. http://learn.linkedin.com

39. “Twitter is like
eavesdropping
on people who
interest you…
http://www.twitter.com
But everything you say is
broadcast on a loudspeaker.”
(Voelkel, 2009)

40. http://twitter.com/help/start

41. Twitter
is for Personal and Professional Use

42. Twitter is also for Professional Organizations,
Academia, Business, etc.

43. http://www.ning.com
is Communal

44. Ning is like creating your
own world……
Health
Education
…and inhabiting it with people
who have the same interests.

45. Allows you to create customized social
networking site:
Public or Private
You determine the functionality (discussion
boards, wall posts, video, or photos or leave
comments).
Good for classes, families, niche groups that
want their own site for networking
Examples: AAHE Ning, Global Health Ning;
WaldenNing

47. Video site for viewing of user
generated content
You can find just about anything
on YouTube
Public or Private
Organizations, education and
businesses use YouTube
http://www.youtube.com

48. Teacher Tube
http://www.teachertube.co
m
Like YouTube but for
educators.

49. Flickr is like creating a virtual
photo or digital video album
……and sharing it with the world…..

50. Academia.edu is like a
show and tell
……..for Higher Education

51. Academia.edu

52. What do they
have in
common?
All three are about
relationships.

53. Why join the
conversation?

54. Because Mark Says So!
“We are doing the profession a disservice
by not preparing our students to use the
wide range of technologies. We are putting
our graduates at risk at being unprepared
to survive the workplace.”
(Kittleson, 2009, p. 314)

55. The latest Nielson
(2009) data
shows that most
youth and young
adults are
already
communicating
on social
networks.

56. ….and so are a
lot of their
parents and
grandparents.*
* The fastest growing demographic of
Facebook users is women age 34-64.

57. And so are their
grandchildren

59. Social Network Network
to… Collaborate
Share information
Learn
Get and give feedback
Recruit
Find a Job
Advocate/raise awareness
Fundraise
and lots more.

60. Social Networking
and Haiti

61. Strategies for Health Education
• Course blogs or Nings
• Group wikis on various health topics
• Design podcasts for health education
• Critique video or upload video on Teachertube and
Youtube
• Create live webcasts for the field or your department
• Dialogue and debate other health education students
around the world
• Twitter to generate announcements or send reminders
• Text messages for health education
• Provide training for students or those in the field
• And so much many more possibilities!

62. Pitfalls of
Social Media
• What is posted on the
internet, stays on the internet
• Cyber-stalking/harassment,
predators
• You could lose your job!
• Your child could get
suspended, expelled or lose a
scholarship!
• Theft
• Computer viruses

63. 12 Ways to Protect Yourself
Online
• 1. Make sure your operating system's
automatic updates and firewall are turned
on.
• 2. Use security programs including anti-
virus and anti-spyware software, and
subscribe to security updates.
• 3. Run a full system scan at least once a
month.
• 4. Don't open attachments or click on links
in e-mails from people you don't know.
• .

64. 12 Ways to Protect Yourself
Online
• 5. Don’t befriend people you don’t know
in social networking sites.
• 6. Don’t share too much personal
information (full name, address, work,
etc.)
• 7. Use passwords with at least eight
characters and numbers and symbols,
and change them regularly.

65. 12 Ways to Protect Yourself
Online (cont’d.)
• 8. Access the Internet through a router - it creates an implicit
firewall for you, so bots can't reach your machine directly.
• 9. Don't use the same password for every account - and use
more complex passwords for "important" transactions, such as
with your bank.
• 10. Don't connect to the Internet using a wireless connection
without a password.
• 11. Don't send sensitive information to a Web site that does not
begin with "https," which means it's secured.
• 12. When you receive an e-mail, think about whether it's really
from the purported sender, rather than an impostor, before
taking action.

66. CHES Credit Activity
Choose ONE of the following
• #1. Create a 1-page communication plan for a
health education activity that involves social
networking and multiple types of social media.
– Describe the health education activity and purpose
– Describe the intended audience
– List activity goals and objectives
– List the strategies/methods used for health education
delivery
– Explain how social media and social networking will be
used
– Provide a rationale for your choice of social media

67. CHES Credit Activity
Option 2: Contest Entry
• #2. Participate in our Social Media and Health
Education Contest! As an individual or group, submit
an example of how you, your group, or your
academic program has used social media in health
education. Provide us with an example (screen shots,
hyperlinks or video) as well as a 1-page written
summary. Entry information will be posted on the
HEDIR Blog, HEDIR Facebook page, and AAHE
Facebook page and Ning.
• Contest will begin: April 1 – November 1, 2010.
• Nominees selected by expert panel.
• Finalists showcased on the HEDIR Blog.
• HEDIR Blog subscribers will vote for the winner!
• Prize = $500 and spotlight at the HEDIR Technology
forum in 2011 as well as on the HEDIR Blog.
• Contact Dr. Jody Early at Jody.Early@waldenu.edu for
more information

68. Questions?
• Jody’s contact information:
• Jody.Early@Waldenu.edu

69. Special Thanks To:
Micki Voelkel for his permission to use
several images (and metaphors)
Dr. Voeklel’s contact info:
Center for Business and Professional Development
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith
mvoelkel@uafortsmith.edu

70. References
• A Pocket Guide to Social Media and Teens. (11/2/2009). Nielsonwire. Retrieved Feb. 19, 2010 from
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/2009/11/?cat=4284
• CBS News. Social Networking in Haiti Updates World. (Jan. 14, 2010). Retrieved Feb. 10 from
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/14/earlyshow/leisure/gamesgadgetsgizmos/main6096
483.shtml
• Global Faces and Networked Places: A Nielsen Report on Social Networking’s New Global
Footprint. (March 2009). The Nielson Company.
• Grunwald & Associates. (n.d.) Kids social network study. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2010 from:
http://grunwald.com/surveys/sn/index.php
• Hanson, C.H., Thackeray, R., Barnes, M., Neiger, B., & McIntyre, E. (2008).
Integrating Web 2.0 in Health Education Preparation and Practice. American Journal of Health
Education. Vol 39(3), pp. 157-164.
Kittleson, M.J. (2009). The future of technology in health education: Challenging the traditional
delivery dogma. American Journal of Health Education. Vol. 40(6), pp. 313.
Prescott, L. (2009). Social Networking by the Numbers. Retrieved online Feb. 10, 2010 at
http://www.research-write.com
Qualman, E. (2009). Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do
business. New York: John Wiley Publishers.
• Ten Ways to Protect Yourself Online. (11/12/2007). Silicon Valley News. Retrieved Feb. 19, 2010
from http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_7428024
• Voekel, M. (2010). Social Networking 101. Retrieved online Feb. 10, 2010 at
http://www.slideshare.com (some images and slides used with written permission)