Understanding Twitter influence in the health domain

Abstract

Twitter can be a powerful tool for the dissemination and discussion of public health information but how can we best describe its influence? In this paper we draw on socialpsychological theories such as social norms, social representations, emotions and rhetorical psychology to explain how influence works both in terms of the spread of information and also its personal impact. Using tweets drawn from a range of health issues, we show that social psychological theory can be used in the qualitative analysis of Twitter data to further our understanding of how health behaviours can be affected by social media discourse.

Predicating Influential Microblog in Micro-blogging Services

“…We must note that social influence is a complex concept, which has various definitions and different evaluation metrics. Andrew McNeill and Pam Briggs [7] claim that social psychological theory can be used to in the qualitative analysis of Twitter data. They also point that when it comes to analysis the intensive social influence of tweets we should think about the how tweets can be influential by virtue of their content; the content includes emotion, themes, content category, and rhetorical strategy.…”

“…The emotional content of message is likely to have an impact on the reader [7]. Thus, reader's behavior in micro-blogging services may be different even in face of the same event described with different text sentiment.…”

The Detail of Trusted Messages: Retweets in a Context of Health and Fitness

“…Health communication and trust researchers, McNeill and Briggs [17] provide a structure that allows a conceptualization of trust (such as Cofta's) to understand the micro-detail of trust evidence, in social network messages. McNeill and Briggs [17] provide a precedent for understanding how the evidence in social network messages can build a picture of trust or distrust. All messages are framed in terms of a metamessage, a predominant message that influence the receiver's worldview.…”

ADHD in 140 Characters or Less: an Analysis of Twitter Commentary on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Saudi Arabia

“…Research has also investigated Twitter's role in supporting individuals with mental health problems (Shepherd et al [66], 2015). McNeill and Briggs [53] (2014) conclude that "Twitter can be a powerful tool for the dissemination and discussion of public health information" (p. 673).…”