Health and Its Discontents: Health Opinion Leaders’ Social Media Discourses and Medicalization of Health

Abstract

Concerns regarding body and health colonize nearly all aspects of contemporary societies. Citizens are exposed to discourses disseminated from innumerable sources, on living a healthier, happier life and attaining a more desirable body. The common point for these discourses is their role in medicalization and individualization of health, i.e. approaching natural cycles of life as diseases and ignoring the social determinants of health. Health professionals, or “health opinion leaders”, occupy a strategic and advantageous position in this process. Most recently, web 1.0 and web 2.0 environments, especially social media outlets come forward among these sources. Social media provides health opinion leaders with opportunities to continuous and easy opinion/idea dissemination, and to mutual interaction with followers. Definition and promotion of diseases and fear; lifestyles and habits; beauty; longevity; performance and personal development; and naturalness lie at the center * The article is based on findings of Social Media Opinion Leadership Research supervised by Prof. Dr. Yasemin Inceoglu with researchers Assist. Prof. Dr. Burak Ozcetin, Meltem Gokmen and Saygin Vedat Alkurt. The project, coded 12.300.002, is funded by Galatasaray University Scientific Research Projects Fund. The project team would like to express their gratitude to Galatasaray University SRP Fund for their support and contribution / Makaleye kaynaklik eden Sosyal Medya Kanaat Onderligi Arastirmasi Prof. Dr. Yasemin Inceoglu tarafindan yurutulmus ve Yrd. Doc. Dr. Burak Ozcetin, Meltem Gokmen ve Saygin Vedat Alkurt projede arastirmaci olarak gorev almistir. 12.300.002 kodlu bu proje, Galatasaray Universitesi Bilimsel Arastirma Projeleri Fonu tarafindan desteklenmistir. Galatasaray Universitesi BAP Fonu’na destek ve katkilarindan oturu tesekkur ederiz.of their discursive strategy. This article suggests that social media discourses of health professionals on health and body must be considered within the context of medicalization and commodification of health in contemporary societies, and within the context of neoliberal governmentality.