When your ‘competitors’ are on YouTube
A disturbing report reveals that many people are sourcing health information from YouTube, and that many of the videos express views contradictory to national guidelines.
That’s fine: free and vigorous debate is a good thing. Allowing people to express opinions is held up as a cornerstone of democracy. Sometimes people just don’t agree with what the Government thinks may be good for them.
But where it becomes a concern is when the general public treat inherently unreliable sources of information as authoritative and inherently credible. YouTube as a source of definitive health information? This so-called authority is what Scott Adams often refers to as ‘some guy on the Internet‘1.
YouTube breeding ground for anti-vaccination views:
[Researchers] analyzed 153 videos about vaccination and immunization on YouTube, a popular online video-sharing site. … a staggering 45 per cent contained messages that contradict the 2006 Canadian Immunization Guide, which provides national guidelines for immunization practices.
…”YouTube is increasingly a resource people consult for health information, including vaccination … Our study shows that a significant amount of immunization content on YouTube contradicts the best scientific evidence at large. From a public health perspective, this is very concerning.”
The research team also found that videos skeptical of vaccinations — many of them highly provocative and powerful — received more views and better ratings by YouTube users than those videos that portray immunizations in a positive light.
While this specific report is about vaccinations and immunisation, and so will be of concern to health workers in New Zealand too, what other topics are being ‘discussed’ via YouTube?
YouTube is enormously popular, all around the globe. Kiwis watch YouTube videos too. Our community organisations can’t afford to ignore it, or to be ignorant of it.
1The Dilbert Blog: Nobel Prize:
The economics prize should be mine for my discovery that everything you need to know about investing can be put in nine bullet points. And I’m not the only one who thinks that. There’s also “some guy on the Internet” who agrees.
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