The Interplay between Media Use and Interpersonal Communication in the Context of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors: Reinforcing or Substituting?

This study aims to explore how media use for health information and interpersonal health communication interact in the context of healthy lifestyle behaviors. This study hypothesizes that media use for health information and interpersonal health communication will serve as substitutes for one another. To test this hypothesis, this study uses a nationally representative survey of 2,107 civilian, noninstitutionalized adults in the United States. The results show that the associations between television use and Internet use and healthy lifestyle behaviors are enhanced among those who talk about health issues with their family and friends less frequently, which supports the substitution model. The implications that these findings have for future research are discussed.