Trust in Physicians Exceeds Trust in Social Media, Family, and Friends for Health Information Among Adult Social Media Users

Social media has dramatically expanded access to health information beyond traditional clinical settings.Patients increasingly turn to digital platforms for immediate health-related information.While this democratization of information has possible benefits, such as increased health literacy, it also raises concerns about misinformation and erosion of trust in healthcare professionals trained to address these questions.The primary objective of this study is to quantify levels of trust in differing sources of health information among adult social media users in the US.We additionally evaluate whether time spent on social media is associated with trust in physician-delivered health information.We hypothesize that physicians remain the most trusted source of health information among the three sources evaluated.Additionally, we hypothesize that greater time spent on social media is associated with lower trust in physicians.A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among adults 18 years or older who reported social media use within the past seven days and had visited a physician in the US within the past one year.Social media use was limited to the following platforms: Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter/X, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Instagram.Among the 65 participants, most were female, White, held a bachelor's degree, and were between 25 and 30 years of age.Trust in health information differed significantly across information sources.Participants reported the greatest trust in physicians, followed by family or friends, and the lowest trust in social media (p < 0.05).No significant differences were observed between users and non-users of each social media platform with regards to trust in physician-delivered health information.Additionally, time spent on social media was not associated with trust in physician-delivered health information.Despite widespread social media use among participants, physicians remained the most trusted source of health information.This underscores physicians' enduring role as a trusted source in the digital age.Future research can investigate the factors that sustain this trust and further influences on health-related decisionmaking and behaviors.