Revisiting Social Media in Health Care: A Bakhtinian Carnival Perspective

Understanding the value of social media in health care has been a conundrum. Much of the literature in this area focuses on the use of social media for promotion, with very few studies seeking to elucidate how social media yields value in health care settings. This article draws on concepts from 18th century linguist Mikhail Bahktin to explain that social media acts like a Carnival in suspension of behavioral norms, and the provision of a forum for the proliferation of diverse dialogues. As a Carnival, social media plays an important role in encouraging dialogues that would not be appropriate within other spaces in the health care system. As such, social media is playing a pivotal role in changing norms toward shared care and patient empowerment.