This study aimed to understand how chronically ill teenagers manage their privacy on social media sites. 20 hospital patients between 12 and 18 were interviewed. The results showed that most teenage patients do not disclose their personal information despite an almost pervasive use of Facebook. Facebook was found to be a place where they could be a "regular" rather than a sick teenager, a place to stay up to date about their social life, not as a place to discuss their diagnosis and treatment. The authors conclude that social media plays an important part in enabling teenagers to be "regular" and as an expression of their need for self-definition and self-protection.
van der Velden, M. & Eman, K. 2013. "Not all my friends need to know": a qualitative study of teenage patients, privacy, and social media. JAMIA - Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. 20 (1) p 16-24.
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