Social Media: Support for Survivors and Young Adults With Cancer

Abstract

Social media use is ubiquitous among young adults. Young adults with cancer must make important decisions about where, what, and how to share information on social media. Oncology nurses are in a unique position to start conversations about the risks and benefits of social media use. This column aims to review a variety of social media platforms that may be used by young adults with cancer and provide guidance to nurses on initiating open dialogue with young adults about social media usage.

Moving Beyond the Friend-Foe Myth: A Scoping Review of the Use of Social Media in Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology

“…A significant number of studies (n = 11), eight of which were empirical and three theoretical, expressed the urgent need for care providers to use these platforms and explore their potential. 22,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] They listed various features that render social media particularly promising networks for engaging AYA: AYA's familiarity with social media as communication tools, the fact that social media is widely available, easily accessible, cost-effective, interactive, normalizing, anonymous, and mimic interpersonal communication, while being less stigmatizing. [34][35][36][37][38][39][44][45][46] Most of those studies, however, refrained from providing an extensive discussion of these social media characteristics.…”

“…A common theme among the selected records (n = 20) was that AYA are a unique group with unique information needs. 18,22,[34][35][36][37][38][39]42,43,[47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57] This ''uniqueness'' was attributed to numerous factors, such as the intrinsic developmental specificities of AYA patients and the rarity of what AYA are experiencing compared to their peers.…”

“…Social media: a tool to improve psychosocial care. In addition to being ''special,'' articles reported that the AYA cancer group is very heterogeneous, 42 not only because of the wide differences in life experiences between the upper and lower age limit of the cohort but also due to the variations in diagnosis, disease stage, and treatment phase. Researchers concluded that this combined uniqueness and heterogeneity lead to social isolation.…”

“…43,49,73 Possible solutions cited in the literature are that HCPs ask AYA about their social media sources and offer an accredited list of online sources to guide AYA in their cancer trajectory. 42,43,48,49,74 As apparent from the findings of two studies, 38,49 AYA prefer to visit sites and social media channels that have been signposted by HCPs. However, many HCPs are unaware of such reliable sources and need educational support to become informed advocates for AYA-centered social media networks.…”

Assessment of the use of the Internet and social media among people with bladder cancer and their carers, and the quality of available patient‐centric online resources: a systematic review

“…Most studies were conducted in European and US contexts, with almost no evidence emerging from the Asia‐Pacific, including Australia. As the next generation of patients develop cancers such as BCa and penile cancer, there will be significant changes in how they interact with online information to manage their condition . It is therefore very important to assess how patients with BCa are accessing information and to determine the quality of that information.…”