This week, Facebook announced it was making moves into the healthcare space – specifically regarding prevention. If you think about it, Facebook has a LOT of data on the average user. They know where you live, who your friends are, how often you might travel and socialize if you chose to share that- and they also know when your birthday is. This move signals, even more, data use for the platform that could potentially encourage people to get preventive screens at milestone birthdays. Thinking about the reach the ability to nudge people is vast- we have seen these nudges used to get out the vote. Will we now see nudges to “get out the colonoscopy screening”?
I find this move both fascinating and also concerning as I want to get my health prompts from a trusted source so it will be interesting to see how the general public receives Facebook’s move into this space. The tool is so integrated into our lives; it is smart to be where people are already exchanging information and life events with friends and family.
What would the resale data be on this kind of information exchange? No doubt, more targeted ad campaigns will be launched based on the type of prevention prompt delivered. Let’s wait and see if this is viewed as cool or creepy….
Thanks for reading – Trina
(Opinions are my own)
