Abstract:
Abstract
More and more young people are using the Internet for education and
entertainment, and the Internet influences them. This study looks at how 13- to
19-year-olds in Bangladesh describe how they use social media to get information
about nutrition. It also looks at how the information they get supports their healthrelated
behavior. We used research methods, a survey, and online and face-to-face
interviews. We analyzed 345 valid and complete responses using Smart PLSbased
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). We found that the teenagers had a
satisfactory level of nutrition literacy, and that social media can promote healthand-nutrition-related
content. We also found that the nutrition literacy of
teenagers was unrelated to their behavior. Instead, their choices of content, their
sense of altruism, and different forms social support influence the way they use
media. These factors also reflected and reinforced their attitudes to health. This
study concludes with recommendations for influencing the nutrition- and health-
related behavior of teenagers.
Keywords: adolescent, nutrition literacy, health behavior, computer-mediated communication,
social media.
