2023-06-20 20:06:57
Knowledge regarding young people’s use of social media and their health is still patchy and very rarely focuses on young Aboriginal people. Accordingly, this scoping study explores the extent and nature of knowledge regarding Aboriginal users aged 15 to 29, and the health themes that emerge.
Research on Aboriginal youth social media use and health and wellness is emerging. Of the twenty-six publications selected, more than three-quarters were published in 2015 or later. Almost half of the studies in the corpus took place in Canada, ie eleven. They are mainly carried out with qualitative methodologies and target young adults, i.e. young people over the age of eighteen. Generally, the authors use exploratory designs and present descriptive results. The semi‑directed interview is the most frequent data collection method to characterize use in more than half of the cases. All the publications in the corpus cover at least one of the four characteristics of use: time, device, platform or activities. The three activities carried out on social media most often discussed are: communicating (sending or receiving messages from loved ones), obtaining information (seeking, for example, advice on anxiety) as well as discovering and promoting one’s culture ( consult pages or groups specific to indigenous peoples). The examination of the corpus’ health themes was guided by an Indigenous perspective on health and wellness. This revolves around four facets (mental, emotional, spiritual and physical) and is rooted in the culture and the territory, at the individual level, but also at the community level. Six health themes emerge from the corpus, presented in order of frequency: identity and culture, social relationships, health information, cyberbullying, racism and other forms of violence, mental health, and life habits. The use of social media raises many questions regarding its possible effects on health and well-being, hence the relevance of further research. Different research angles might be explored: mental health, sleep time, problematic use, information practices, social support and identity pride as a determinant of health.
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#Aboriginal #Youth #Health #Wellness #Social #Media #Scoping #Study
