Veterans, toxic exposure and the digital sphere: Exploring motivations for social media use

As the resident Gen Z consultant, I must know everything about social media. So naturally, when it came time to explore how concerns about toxic exposure contribute to veterans’ use of social media, I approached it with the same confidence I had when showing my father how to send a direct message on Instagram.

As a clinical research coordinator for the Center for Innovations In Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety (IQuESt), I balance research support with hands-on clinical trial activities — every pre-med student’s dream. I am part of the Data and Biorepository Commons Core, a resource hub of the Military Exposures Research Program (MERP), whose mission is to improve our understanding of how military exposures impact veteran health.

With this goal in mind and with the help of my co-authors, Drs. Mhd Hasan Al Mekdash, Tarek Kandakji and Drew Helmer, we sought to determine how veterans’ concern for toxic exposure, or “military exposure burden” (MEB), contributes to social media use (SMU) while also considering demographic variables such as sex and education level.

As social media becomes more integrated into daily life, individuals turn to these platforms due to health information-seeking behavior (HISB), which often is motivated by anxiety. Specifically, in the case of veterans, we wondered if those with higher MEB may be more inclined to demonstrate HISB out of concern for the long-term health effects of their exposures.

So, how do you quantify MEB and social media use?

While on active duty, military personnel can encounter a wide range of occupational and environmental hazards, including depleted uranium, jet fuel and sandstorms. Our study surveyed a population of veterans about their level of concern for potential exposures, which we used to measure MEB. We similarly assessed social media use by collapsing responses about the frequency of use for different social media platforms.

We found that the more concerned a veteran is about their exposure (higher MEB), there is an increased likelihood they utilize social media (higher SMU). Our preliminary findings also suggest that demographic variables may further shape this relationship. We found a statistically significant difference between MEB and SMU, based on sex and education level, when controlling for all other variables. These results demonstrate the need for further analysis of potential factors that may influence this relationship, which we plan to explore in our manuscript.

These findings offer valuable insights in guiding efforts to use social media as a tool to reach veterans with resources and support. It is important to consider the unique needs of the veteran population and understand what motivates them to seek information regarding their health. In a world where inaccurate health information is increasingly common, it is both timely and necessary to implement policies that promote not only digital literacy but also utilize available social media data to inform the design of targeted, validated programs and interventions. These initiatives should themselves leverage social media platforms to deliver evidence-based content, foster connection and build trust within the veteran community.

By Sydney Buchman, research coordinator in the Section of Health Services Research