As the first generation born into the digital world, Gen Z spends a lot of time on social media. 54% of Gen Z spend up to 4 hours per day on social media, and 38% spend even more. A player in the healthcare sector needs to meet his Gen Z consumers online. As healthcare influencers grow their presence on social media and Gen Z begins to use healthcare more frequently, the industry is changing how Gen Z engages with health and medical content on social media. need to understand.
Corporate Insight recently conducted a survey and 14 user interviews to understand Gen Z's relationship with social media and healthcare, specifically how Gen Z uses social media to obtain health and medical information. We conducted a survey of the department structure. In particular, our findings reveal that Gen Z tends to first search for health and medical information on social media. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube reign as the top three platforms. The full report highlights age-related differences within Gen Z when it comes to preferred social media platforms. Think twice about searching Google or sites like WebMD or Mayo Clinic.
Gen Z is picky about the social media content they consume and take their information at heart.
Gen Z appreciates that social media content is simple, free, and current, but they are picky about the content they consume. They consider the demographics and educational background of the content creator, tone and language, and the popularity of the content (likes, comments, followers). We also care about when a post was uploaded, whether the account is verified, and whether there are promotions or advertisements.
Surprisingly, medical licenses and qualifications are not highly valued. Less than half (45%) of survey respondents said it was “very” or “extremely” important for content creators to be medically licensed or board certified. Gen Z points out that healthcare professionals can spread false information online and that they may disagree with their opinions, regardless of their personal license.
“Qualifications are important, but I pay more attention to the tone they use when speaking to their audience. If I can tell from the way an influencer speaks that they have values that don't align with mine, I I’m not going to follow people.”
Gen Z is well aware that not all the health and medical information they see on social media is accurate. To combat this, we use several methods to avoid blindly consuming content, such as using social media to only search for minor, non-serious health concerns. We may also check the comments section to see how other people are feeling and reacting to the post, and we may also Google information such as the influencer's education and qualifications. .
Gen Zers use social media to diagnose themselves with illnesses, but they don't necessarily seek medical attention afterwards.
Self-diagnosis is a prominent phenomenon observed in the Gen Z demographic, with 40% of survey respondents diagnosing their own health or medical conditions based on social media content. Of these, only 71% subsequently sought advice from a doctor or nurse. Some people naturally self-diagnose when looking for symptoms. For others, it helps determine the urgency of the situation and when to schedule an appointment. Gen Z also feels that self-diagnosis makes them more knowledgeable and better prepared for their appointments. At the same time, most people are afraid to tell their health care provider about their self-diagnosis. Rather, describe your symptoms and wait for a doctor's diagnosis. The full report discusses insights from three of her interviewees who were diagnosed with ADHD and took different approaches to their subsequent care.
“In the doctor's office, I don't explain how I came to that conclusion. I just tell them my symptoms. I'm not a licensed person here, and I didn't go to school for this. Not that it happened.”
Mental health awareness continues to rise among Generation Z.
Among survey respondents who diagnosed themselves with a disease, 65% said it was related to mental or behavioral health. The top self-diagnosis was anxiety (56%), followed by depression (47%) and ADHD (35%).
Due to concerns about being stigmatized, Gen Z values the ability to learn about the experiences of others with the same condition through social media rather than consulting a health care provider. At the same time, a major concern for interviewees was inaccurate and exaggerated content about mental health, reiterating that Gen Z is wary of trusting information online.
“Despite the increased awareness about mental health on social media, people sometimes pathologize everything, diagnosing the most normal human behavior and treating it as some kind of mental illness. I think they're going a little too far in trying to make it look like that.”
To engage with Gen Z consumers, health systems and health payers maintain an active presence on social media and create content that Gen Z finds visually pleasing, engaging, and trustworthy. must be created. Companies can also leverage social media to increase health insurance literacy, which interviewees said they appreciate.
The full report delves into what motivates Gen Z to turn to social media in the first place and how wary they are about content accuracy and awareness of misinformation. Focus on users' content preferences and product purchase behavior based on promotions and advertisements for products related to health and medical conditions. Click here to receive a copy of the report.
To learn more about digital innovation in healthcare, check out Corporate Insight's research services in four areas: Health Plans, Medicare, Health Systems, and Pharmacy. Or, read our healthcare briefings for more information on a specific topic.
