Social and Digital Impact on Health with Sam Liu

Faculty of Education

Sam Liu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria’s School of Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education (EPHE). His research focuses on the ways in which social media can be used to promote health. The rise of social media and digital technology has brought with it controversy. Smartphones, screen time, and social networking can be used for good, but can also have negative impacts on our health. They can create communities, but they can also cause anxiety and other health issues. Liu’s research studies both sides of the argument. Even more than just studying the impacts of social media, Liu studies how and when we can intervene when the negative side starts to outweigh the positive. For example, Liu and his team are mining Twitter data and comparing it to other biomedical data to determine physical activity levels within certain geographical communities. With this data, they are able to monitor in real-time which areas may need help becoming more physically active. Listen to this episode to learn more about how Liu’s research is creating mentally and physically healthy communities by monitoring social media. Find out more about Liu's work on his Digital Health Lab website: https://www.uvic.ca/research/labs/digitalhealth/