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Research into the medical benefits of using social media platforms like Twitter.
AFP
Newcastle University researchers are involved in a study exploring how the online social networking service Twitter can help people who have experienced a range of medical conditions.
The research involves people who have experienced stroke, cerebral palsy, autism, motor neurone disease and traumatic brain injury.
Initial findings from the study show Twitter has helped many people who are unable to communicate by speech.
University of Newcastle Associate Professor Bronwyn Hemsley is leading the research and said the results are encouraging.
“We were please to learn from people that who’ve spoken to already that people are quite good at Facebook say and are starting to take up using Twitter which relies on text and inserting links and using hash tags and as such they’re really showing that they’re quite good at it to start with,” she said.
Associate Professor Hemsley said initial findings show Twitter can give people a much needed public voice.
“I think it is more that now people can put their typing skills to use in public where before they might have relied on one to one communication somebody now who does have a communication device and access to the internet can also communicate with a lot more people,” she said.