Responsible social media use may contribute positively to young adults' sexual health literacy and health-promoting behaviors, with significant positive correlations found between social media usage, sexual health literacy, and healthy lifestyle skills among Turkish university students.
Participants reported good levels of sexual health literacy and moderate levels of healthy lifestyle skills.
A significant positive correlation was found between sexual health literacy and both social media usage and healthy lifestyle skills.
Prior education in sexual health or media literacy was associated with significantly higher scores in both sexual health literacy and healthy lifestyle skills.
Demographic factors including gender, income, and urban residence were associated with healthier lifestyle behaviors.
The study concluded that integrating media literacy and sexual health education into public health policies and university curricula is important.
This research suggests that among Turkish university students, using social media more is linked to better knowledge about sexual health and healthier lifestyle habits. The study surveyed 598 students and found that those who used social media more tended to score higher on measures of sexual health literacy and healthy lifestyle skills. Students who had previously received education specifically about sexual health or media literacy scored even higher on both measures, suggesting that formal education in these areas provides an added benefit beyond social media use alone. The study also found that certain demographic characteristics — including gender, income level, and living in an urban area — were associated with healthier lifestyle behaviors, pointing to potential inequalities in health knowledge and habits among young people. These findings suggest that social media, when used responsibly, may serve as a useful channel for young adults to access and engage with health information rather than being purely a source of misinformation or distraction. This research suggests that universities and public health policymakers should consider incorporating media literacy and sexual health education into standard curricula, and that developing digital health interventions tailored to young adults could help improve long-term health outcomes. Because the study was conducted at a single Turkish university using a cross-sectional (one point in time) design, the findings may not apply to other populations, and it is not possible to determine from this study whether social media use directly causes improvements in health literacy or whether students already interested in health simply use social media to seek out that information.
Dülger H, Ada G, Dilcen H, Bilişli Y. (2026). Social media's effect on sexual literacy and healthy life skills in young adults.. BMC public health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25651-3