Use of Social Media as a Source of Nutritional Information Among Health Science Students at Benghazi University

Abstract

Social media is challenging as an information-sharing community because there is no formal review process before the information is published. University students rank among the most engaged users of social media and have demonstrated difficulty in assessing credible information on the internet. The study aims to explore the use of social media as a source of nutritional information among health science students at Benghazi University, Libya. A Descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2024. The study sample consisted of 434 health science students (377 females and 57 males). Data were collected using an online, self-administered questionnaire via Google Forms. A chi-square test was utilized to analyze the relationship between demographic characteristics and the use of social media for sourcing nutrition information. Results indicated that 81.6% of students utilized nutrition information, with 25.8% actively following a specific diet. Participants primarily searched for general nutrition tips and disease-specific dietary information. Approximately half of the respondents (50.5%) considered social media platforms to be their most reliable source of nutrition information. Statistical analysis revealed a significant correlation between gender and several factors, including social media usage, preferred content types, qualifications of followed pages, and the perceived accuracy and helpfulness of the information. Additionally, the students' specific faculty was significantly associated with their use of social media for nutrition information and their perception of page credibility. This study has shown that social media is the most common source of nutritional information among students. This study indicates that Facebook is the preferred social media platform among a majority of students.