The Use of Social Media by Dental Students for Communication and Learning: Two Viewpoints

Abstract

Social media have become a major part of an interconnected society, impacting personal and professional lives. This Point/Counterpoint presents two opposing viewpoints on the question of whether social media should be used in dental education as a learning and communication tool for dental students. Viewpoint 1 argues that social media benefit student learning and should be used as a tool in dental education. This argument is based on evidence concerning use of social media and improved learning across health professions, improved peer‐peer communication in clinical education, improved engagement in interprofessional education (IPE), and provision of a mechanism for safe and improved communication between practitioners and patients, as well as faculty and students. Viewpoint 2 argues that potential problems and risks in using social media outweigh any benefits found in learning and therefore social media should not be used as a tool in dental education. This viewpoint is supported by evidence of negative effects on learning, the establishment of a negative digital footprint in the public's view, risk of privacy violations when using social media, and the new phenomenon of Internet addiction with its negative physiological effects on social media users.

Social Media and Health Care, Part I: Literature Review of Social Media Use by Health Care Providers

“…Not only is SM rich in educational resources but coupling the information with the interactive exchange of ideas and the live discussions has also made it a valuable educational tool. When SM was integrated into teaching, students were motivated by content obtained from SM, and positive behavioral changes were promoted [101]. Moreover, when SM was incorporated into clinical education, students perceived better collaboration with their peers, improved professional and career development, and larger supportive learning communities [102].…”

Identifying Risk Factors Affecting the Usage of Digital and Social Media: A Preliminary Qualitative Study in the Dental Profession and Dental Education

“…Dental professionals in academic and practice settings have a professional reputation as well as regulatory requirements to uphold and be sensitive to since they have a professional standing that elicits society’s trust [ 12 ]. Concerns about breaching patients’ confidentiality and compliance with regulations and professional standards could also hinder the uptake of DSM in the professional context [ 13 ]. In this paper, these are referred to risks associated with the use of DSM in the professional and education context.…”

“…Despite the ongoing debate of the usefulness of DSM in dentistry [ 13 ], there have been few attempts to identify the risks of using DSM between the contexts in terms of general usage and how usage specific to dental education and profession affects the uptake of using DSM. Additionally, although this body of knowledge about dental students and professionals’ compliance is crucial [ 14 , 15 ], there are several other general and professional risks that need to be explored and discussed.…”

Preparing dental students to use social media as a platform to promote oral health

“…Students will benefit if social media is taught to be used in a productive, responsible, and safe manner. 4 Hence, training dental students on how to conduct health-related social media campaign should be considered in every dental education program.…”