{
  "abstract": "Purpose\n\nThe increasing use of social media has made social media literacy vital for promoting safe, responsible, and informed online engagement. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, behaviors, and practices of school students and educators regarding social media usage and online health information seeking. The central research question focused on understanding how effectively students and educators navigate digital spaces and assess the credibility of online health information.\n\nMethods\n\nA cross-sectional mixed-methods needs assessment study was conducted across five Indian cities, encompassing 15 schools per city representing public, semi-private, and private institutions. The total sample included 2,331 students (grades 9-12) and 373 educators. A mixed-method approach, integrating quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, was used.\n\nResults\n\nInternet access was reported by 97.5% of students and all educators. Among students, WhatsApp (Meta Platforms, Inc., Menlo Park, California, United States) (88.6%), YouTube (Alphabet Inc., Mountain View, California, United States) (85.2%), and Instagram (Meta Platforms, Inc.) (64%) were the most used platforms. Both social media (60.5%) and traditional media (58.5%) were primary sources of health information. While 88.4% of educators and 77.7% of students searched for health news online mainly via WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook (Meta Platforms, Inc.), 33.2% of educators were unsure about information accuracy, but 55% still shared it. Only 4-6% of participants had received prior training on identifying misinformation.\n\nConclusion\n\nThe findings underscore the urgent need for structured capacity-building programs that enhance social media literacy, promote critical evaluation of online health content, and foster digital citizenship to mitigate misinformation and encourage responsible online behavior.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Health Policy and Communication, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, IND",
    "Health Policy and Communication, Voluntary Health Association of India, New Delhi, IND",
    "Health Promotion and Noncommunicable Diseases, Voluntary Health Association of India, New Delhi, IND",
    "Community Medicine, Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research in Digital Health, New Delhi, IND",
    "Health Sciences, Voluntary Health Association of India, New Delhi, IND",
    "Health Sciences, World Health Organization (WHO) India, New Delhi, IND",
    "Public Health and Health Risk Communication, World Health Organization (WHO) India, New Delhi, IND",
    "Viral Immunology and Vaccine Research, Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Health Research, Gorakhpur, IND"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Rajni Kant"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Bhavna B Mukhopadhyay"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Nancepreet Kaur"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Swapnil Jain"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Saritha Nair"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Enna Dogra Gupta"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Shireen Fatma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Nhu Nguyen Tran Minh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Sophia Lonappan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Neha Srivastava"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3xpq84w700ky6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.7759/cureus.117376",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13725168/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "3xpq84w700ky6",
  "issns": [
    "2168-8184"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725168",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Health Policy"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Medical Education"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Public Health"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3600|Health Literacy and Information Accessibility"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7218574966",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13725168/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13725168",
  "pmid": "42974122",
  "published": "2026-10-03",
  "publisher": "Cureus Inc.",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3xpq84w700ky6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T15:20:50Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13725168",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725168"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T12:23:37Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13725168",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.117376"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:49Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42974122",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974122"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "heading:Public Health",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Social Media Literacy and Health Information-Seeking Behavior Among School Students and Educators in India: A Needs Assessment Under Project Info-Suraksha",
  "title_text": "Social Media Literacy and Health Information-Seeking Behavior Among School Students and Educators in India: A Needs Assessment Under Project Info-Suraksha",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T12:21:30Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3xpq84w700ky6",
  "venue": "Cureus",
  "versions": []
}