By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Cash Transfers: Good for HIV/AIDS Too
    August 9, 2012
    unnecessary medical tests
    Eagerly Awaiting the Death of Defensive Medicine
    September 5, 2013
    Image
    Mobile Health Around the Globe – mHealth Fighting Malnutrition in India
    December 17, 2012
    Latest News
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Are We Ready to Celebrate People Who Choose to Be Sick in Public?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Social Media > Are We Ready to Celebrate People Who Choose to Be Sick in Public?
eHealthSocial Media

Are We Ready to Celebrate People Who Choose to Be Sick in Public?

Fard Johnmar
Fard Johnmar
Share
7 Min Read
epatients
SHARE

epatientsIt’s only natural for some people (and their families) battling physical and mental illnesses to use the Internet and social media for emotional and moral support. Yet, in a culture where we’re expected to be sick in silence, going public with an illness is still taboo.

We know better, but when we are sick sometimes we think we’re the only ones in the world coping with a physical or mental illness.

epatientsIt’s only natural for some people (and their families) battling physical and mental illnesses to use the Internet and social media for emotional and moral support. Yet, in a culture where we’re expected to be sick in silence, going public with an illness is still taboo.

We know better, but when we are sick sometimes we think we’re the only ones in the world coping with a physical or mental illness.

More Read

Social Media Policies and “Spying” by Physicians
How An Answering Service Helps Avoid Costly Medical Malpractice Claims
Boomer Voice: Why Don’t Boomer Docs Embrace Mobile?
5 Best Practices for Switching to an EMR System
Reaching Women Through Health IT: Introducing Gabby

Taking care of a sick family member or friend can also be a very solitary experience.

Because humans are social animals, it’s not at all surprising that some turn to the Web and social media to share their health stories, provide emotional/moral support and more.

Those who view these activities as quite natural wonder why:

  1. Some are baffled or offended when people decide to share their health stories online and via social media
  2. Doctors and other health providers actively discourage people from going online when they have an illness

There may be a simple reason people behave this way. A lot of our unease with those who choose to be sick in public comes from living in a culture where we are expected to cope with illness in silence.

Two Recent Articles Illustrate Our Discomfort With People Who Choose to Be Sick in Public

Our cultural discomfort with public sickness was recently illustrated by two articles written by husband and wife Bill and Emma Keller focusing on Lisa Bonchek Adams, who has been writing — via social media and the Web — about her life with breast cancer for more than six years.

Emma’s piece, published on the Guardian’s Website (and since removed), raised a number of questions about whether it is appropriate and ethical for Lisa to tweet about her cancer. In the piece, she noted that Lisa has tweeted about her experiences more than 100,000 times. While noting that social media has been a valuable outlet for Lisa, Emma also wondered about whether she had gone too far:

“Will our memories be the ones she wants? What is the appeal of watching someone trying to stay alive? Is this the new way of death? You can put a ‘no visitors sign’ on the door of your hospital room, but you welcome the world into your orbit and describe every last Fentanyl patch. Would we, the readers, be more dignified if we turned away? Or is this part of the human experience?”

This week, an editorial by Bill Keller was published in the New York Times that in some respects reads like a companion piece to the one his wife wrote a few days earlier. Bill said:

“Lisa Adams is still alive, still blogging, and insists she is not dying, but the blog has become less about prolonging her survival and more about managing her excruciating pain. Her poetry has become darker.”

It’s Not About the Medium, It’s About the Cultural Message Lisa and People Like Her Are Sending About How to Cope With Illness (and Face Death)

In many cultures around the world, getting sick is a very private matter. People don’t feel comfortable talking about it publicly. This discomfort extends to social media. According to a study my firm published in 2011, 68% of Facebook users said they had not and would not share health information via the social network. When asked why, 86% of non-sharers said this information was “no one’s business” but their own.

My friend Susannah Fox at the Pew Research Center has noticed a similar reluctance to share health information in her work. Overall, a small percentage of people share their health stories online.

But, there’s a critical diagnosis difference. Susannah has noted that those with chronic conditions — especially people with more than one illness — are much more likely to share their health stories with others.

This is only the beginning. I believe we’re at the cusp of a new cultural movement that accepts and celebrates going public about sickness and what it means to face death.

How Lisa and Those Like Her Represent a New Cultural Movement

A few brave individuals are creating a new movement that may one day make the idea of using the Web, social media, mobile and other tools to share stories about what it means to be ill something to be accepted rather than doubted.

In my new co-authored book, ePatient 2015, we describe people who practice (and support) the act of seeking and providing emotional and moral support via the Web and social media as “virtual counselors.” To get a sense of what the future holds, we asked an Internet and social media savvy group of health consumers (or ePatients) whether they had ever provided or sought virtual counseling via the Web. The majority said yes.

This data suggests that ePatients like Lisa, are helping to bring the act of being sick in public into the mainstream. Outside of the data realm, the backlash against the pieces written by Bill and Emma Keller suggests that people are more than ready to turn their backs on tradition and support those who refuse to cope with sickness in silence.

This essay was originally published in a Medium collection Fard Johnmar produces and curates, “Musings on the Current and Future Digital Health Era.

(chemo patient / shutterstock)

TAGGED:ePatient
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

9 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Add Years to Your Life
9 Healthcare Lifestyle Tweaks That can Add Years to Your Life
lifestyle
July 11, 2025
car accident lawsuit
Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
Policy & Law
July 6, 2025
women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025

You Might also Like

medical practice marketing, physician marketing, blogging, seo
eHealth

Getting Your Practice Marketing Started with a Physician Blog

April 3, 2014
ehr_medical_records
eHealthHospital AdministrationMedical RecordsRadiology

EHRs Play Critical Role in Radiology Decision-Making

January 4, 2015

The 5 Biggest Challenges Healthcare Leaders are Facing in 2015

August 5, 2015
mhealth
eHealthMobile Health

Mobile Health Around the Globe: BioBeats Marches to Your HeartBeat

October 21, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?