Are we…social enough? Use of social media among members of the Italian Society of Neurology for the study of dementia.

Abstract

Clinical researchers increasingly embrace social media in their professional lives. The digital revolution has provided new routes for sharing data, disseminating results, and promoting the impact of scientific findings. In this study, we explored the attitude of the members of the Italian Society of Neurology for the study of dementia (SINdem) to use social media with the aim to set up possible corrective actions to maximize digitalization benefits at the individual and community levels. An ad hoc designed survey was implemented and distributed to the SINdem and SINdem4Juniors communities. It explored the different use of social media taking into account frequency, type of social media use (active vs passive; professional vs private). Descriptive statistical analyses were performed alongside statistical comparisons to highlight possible differences in the use. We collected 133 answers showing a prominent use of social media in private life (t(132) = 21.1, p < 0.001), with SINdem4Juniors members showing a higher private use compared to the older SINdem colleagues. Professional use was mainly limited to passive activities such as following others' social profiles (t(132) = 11.9, p < 0.001). Overall scenario suggests that professional use of social media is very limited in both SINdem and SINdem4juniors communities. This evidence points to an urgent need for training interventions and top-down strategies aimed at improving collaboration, dissemination, and sharing through social media among individuals belonging to the same scientific-professional community.