Within the last decade, the rise of social media platforms and social network effects has altered how Type I Diabetics on insulin pump therapy deal with medical complications or questions. In the past, an insulin pump user’s only recourse would be to contact their endocrinologist or insulin pump provider with any medical issues they may be experiencing, and the insulin pump provider, who is more immediately available to patients, did not always necessarily have medical personnel on call and were thus not always legally equipped to provide anything more than generic pump therapy management advice. For many Juvenile Diabetics like myself, it always used to seem like a waiting game to receive potentially life-saving professional medical advice.

Now, however, social media platforms can be leveraged to improve diabetes management care in insulin pump-owning Type I Diabetics. Now more than ever before, patients like myself are utilising social networks and social media platforms to “seek, meet, and interact with a community of patients with similar problems; to share clinical information; and to provide and receive support” (Petrovski, Zivkovic, & Stratrova, 2015). Facebook and CareLink in particular have both been leaders in this movement by creating and providing some of the earliest social groups ever (since 2008) to bridge together patients, families of patients, friends of patients, and professional medical providers. Beyond supplying helpful, immediate information, these thriving social groups also supply invaluable therapeutic benefits for diabetics experiencing stress or diabetes burnout; indeed, these social media platforms can also be seen as a tool for empowerment for diabetics (Shaffer-Hudkins, Johnson, Melton, & Wingert, 2014).

Recent research has analyzed the efficacy of social media networks as a diabetes care control solution in lieu of regularly scheduled medical appointments. With many diabetics regularly engaging in social media groups, indeed for some multiple times a day, researchers felt it was important to test the whether these strongly used social media tools does translate into improved diabetes control in patients with Type I diabetes using insulin pumps (Shaffer-Hudkins, Johnson, Melton, & Wingert, 2014; Petrovski, Zivkovic, & Stratrova, 2015). It was found that the “Internet group”, who received medical and social treatment from only digital software and Facebook, were just as capable of lowering their A1C glucose levels as their peers who continued to regularly physically visit their medical care providers.

The implications of this finding could be huge, especially in countries with more costly medical health care systems, such as the United States. Many diabetics cannot afford to regularly visit medical care providers due to the associated costs, and these robust social media platforms and apps could be seen as a viable alternative to more lower-SES diabetic patients who are not capable of regularly visiting their endocrinologist. If anything, it is a good supplemental tool to use IN ADDITION to regularly scheduled medical appointments.

Sources

Petrovski, G., Zivkovic, M., & Stratrova, S.S. (2015). Social media and diabetes: Can facebook and Skype improve glucose control in patients with type 1 diabetes on pump therapy? One-year experience. Diabetes Care 2015 Apr; 38(4): e51-e52. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc14-2487

Shaffer-Hudkins, E., Johnson, N., Melton, S., & Wingert, A. (2014). Social media use among individuals with diabetes. The International Journal of Communication and Health, 4(1):38-43.

“Chatbots have turned to crime, using ever-slicker methods to steal cash or identities – and these cheating algorithms are passing the Turing test every day.” – Peter Nowak

Increasingly, chatbots are being programmed to scour different social networking platforms to gather peoples’ personal information, then reach out to these people to try to convince them to divulge their personal information. These chatbots are fairly ubiquitous on social networks, messaging apps and webmail, have different names along these different medium, and ultimately operate by using the same number of conversation strings and responses based on such categories as the victim’s profession, interests, etc. These chattiest try to develop a relationship with their mark, build trust, then solicit cash or attempt identity theft, depending on the chatbots’ ultimate programmed goal.

Chatbots have fooled their victims not just through sexual gambits, but also through appealing interested in the person’s hobbies and passions. Indeed, some chatbots steal identities to trick you into divulging your personal information on some social media platforms. Anyone can easily become a victim of these enchanting, criminal chatbots. For instance, former Loebner prize director and psychologist Robert Epstein was engaged in a prolonged email correspondence with a criminal chatbot for for over two months, despite being labeled as a chatbot expert. The Loebner prize was established in 1990 to recognize and honor significant achievements in chatbot evolutional development, and is awarded on the chatbots ability to pass the Turing test. To pass this test, a chatbot must be able to fool a number of people into believing it is human in virtual conversations.

Besides the fact that there are an unknown number of criminal chatbots lurking out there, preying on innocent, unsuspecting victims, what is truly troublesome is that these ‘bots are passing the Turing test due to how difficult it can be to identify some of the more sophisticated criminal chatbots. Unfortunately, the Internet has enhanced the chatbots abilities, too. Instead of pre-programming certain lines and phrases into the chatbot, creators can now create chatbots with self-learning mechanisms. Thus, while chatbot technology has beed used to “beef” up security, it can also then just as easily be co-opted by criminals. Indeed, it is estimated that greater than 80 percent of online crimes are perpetrated by chatbots. It has also been increasingly unduly difficult for law enforcement agencies to track down these ever more sophisticated chatbots because of their international reach.

This begs the question: how many individuals annually fall prey to nefarious chatbots? What can security departments due to track down the chatbots’ source with international jurisdictions?

Nowak, N. (2012, June 20). Silicon sirens: The naughty bots out to seduce you. Retrieved from https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428705.900-silicon-sirens-the-naughty-bots-out-to-seduce-you/