Abstract
This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background The rise of social media [SoMe] has changed medical education practice, possibly facilitating learning through conversational interaction, social feedback and relationships. Usage of newer SoMe tools like Instagram and Snapchat has not been scrutinised.This study aimed to understand how medical students may use newer SoMe tools, specifically Twitter, Instagram & Snapchat, in their learning, in the context of a parallel SoMe course. Methods An optional, parallel SoMe course was established at Newcastle University Medical School. 301 fourth-year medical students were invited to engage using Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. Evaluation adopted a mixed methods approach, gathering SoMe analytics and survey data as well as qualitative, free-text responses from a questionnaire and focus-group discussion. Results Live-tweeting lectures featured 95 facilitator tweets, with five replies by students. 22 Instagram posts received no student responses, and three Snapchat stories were viewed 15,312 times, with 212 screenshots taken. Of questionnaire respondents, 75% [n=66] stated they engaged with content. Framework analysis of free-text responses and focus group discussion identified peer influence, fear of exposure, cognitive load and curiosity as drivers in new SoMe use. Discussion Medical students may engage with new SoMe for learning. This may manifest as yet another unilateral learning resource, rather than a tool for discussion or debate. Educators should be aware of external influences, such as peer influence, before assuming student interaction. Further research into medical student use of newer SoMe platforms is warranted, given their popularity, rapidly evolving nature and short lifespan.
Highlights
The rise of social media (SoMe) has changed medical education practice, due to its ubiquitous nature and associated opportunities for innovation. 94% of medical students use some kind of SoMe platform (Keenan, Slater and Matthan, 2018), with Facebook and Twitter established in the literature as commonly used by students
Instagram and Snapchat have made a vociferous entrance onto the SoMe scene: Snapchat reports over 300 million monthly users in 2019 (Snapchat, 2019), and Instagram is only beaten in popularity by Facebook, with 1 billion monthly users (Instagram, 2019)
Educators must anticipate whether Snapchat and Instagram will offer the same opportunities as Facebook or Twitter, or fall to the same fate as Vine, as transient trends in the fluctuating SoMe landscape (Guckian and Spencer, 2018)
Summary
The rise of social media (SoMe) has changed medical education practice, due to its ubiquitous nature and associated opportunities for innovation. 94% of medical students use some kind of SoMe platform (Keenan, Slater and Matthan, 2018), with Facebook and Twitter established in the literature as commonly used by students. 94% of medical students use some kind of SoMe platform (Keenan, Slater and Matthan, 2018), with Facebook and Twitter established in the literature as commonly used by students These platforms can support online communities of practice, as well as acting as an access point for recommended learning materials (Cole et al, 2017). Instagram and Snapchat have made a vociferous entrance onto the SoMe scene: Snapchat reports over 300 million monthly users in 2019 (Snapchat, 2019), and Instagram is only beaten in popularity by Facebook, with 1 billion monthly users (Instagram, 2019) These platforms rely heavily on visual materials and, whilst there is evidence of medical education institutions (Edinburgh Medical School, 2019), businesses and educators (Inside the Boards, 2019) beginning to develop new SoMe medical revision resources, there has not been critical analysis of medical student use of these platforms. This study aimed to understand how medical students may use newer SoMe tools, Twitter, Instagram & Snapchat, in their learning, in the context of a parallel SoMe course
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