Social media is an inevitable presence in our digital age. We now use social media not only to connect with friends and family, but to look for work (LinkedIn, JobAware, CareerBuilder, etc.), to get advice for our furry friends (Dogster, Catster), to share information (Twitter, Wikis, etc.), for entertainment (Tik-Tok, YouTube), and the list goes on. I [mostly] believe the appropriate use of social media is up to the user, as long as they uphold their professional responsibilities. Utilizing social media is something I have struggled with a lot in my professional life. In college, we were heavily encouraged not to have personal social media pages, and to be very mindful of the audience of any professional pages, as anything can be 'dug up' later and misconstrued.
I often use social media to share travel photos, photos of my children, major life events, some relevant medical or political literature that use lay terms or explain difficult concepts without jargon. I also use social media for school, to connect with classmates, and to feel like I’m attending school with humans in this strange virtual world. I also follow some media outlets, upstream- or globally-minded doctors, politicians, dancers, yoga instructors, and biomedical ‘pages’. I follow these groups to keep current, and for entertainment. Most of my social media settings are private. Being that I have a very generic name, I’ve found that in the past it was more difficult for clients or acquaintances to find me on social media, so that has been helpful to maintain a mild sense of anonymity online.
This pandemic has been a tough pill to swallow when we are looking at other people’s viewpoints. I have seen many health professionals use their social media for good, but I have also seen many health professionals share strong opinions to the contrary. The public becomes very conflicted when they see these postings from esteemed members of society. In health care, we typically hold ourselves to higher standards, but the last two years have really shown us that even in health care, there is no sovereignty of social media.
Conformation bias is an interesting concept that we all think we are posting what is “right” and that we are more “right” than others when we follow like-minded people and groups (Ori, 2022). It is likely that with tensions running high and the reality of pandemic fatigue, we are all leaning a little further left- or right- than we normally would. When discussing social media, my professor, who researches the influence of social media on health, brought up the interesting concept of social media giving us the ability to create an “echo chamber” of our own beliefs so that we can continuously confirm what we “know”. This holds true for both ends of the spectrum, and with that, we never really know what is true with the degree information is spun before it gets to us, the consumer.
The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO)’s code of ethics is grounded in four principles: to benefit all clients and serve their best interest, to treat all clients with respect and dignity, to not harm clients, and to be responsible and accountable. I believe that responsibility on social media can fall under any of those guiding principles, and if there were a matter of discipline related to the misuse of social media then I believe the disciplinary committee could find wrong-doing under any of those grounds (College of Massage Therapists of Ontario [CMTO], 2019). I believe that all health professionals have an ethical responsibility to share information rooted in high-quality evidence in their field of knowledge when presented with ignorance or hate. Most of us got into health care because we care about the health of individuals, communities, and different populations and we are responsible to speak up for what is collectively “right”.
In conclusion, I think it’s best we all follow the guiding rules of our professional bodies (if we have one) and to understand that we are a diverse population of diverse opinions, and that’s alright, there’s no need to cause a scene, provided the poster is being respectful and considerate. We are all different and are entitled to showcase our personalities in a way we see fit.
Here are some “rules” that resounded with me the most as found in various internet pages or through my class forum that I feel are especially important to keep in mind in our current global state of affairs:
Uphold all professional, legal, and ethical obligations to your profession always (Serniwka, 2021).
Establish clear boundaries between professional and personal social media use; make additional efforts not to establish personal connections with patients online (Canadian Medical Protective Association [CMPA], 2014, Serniwka, 2021).
Recognize that your audience is unknown and will likely include both expert and lay audiences (CMPA, 2014).
Announce your accomplishments and present yourself as a thought leader in your profession (Walden University, n.d.).
Hide or remove comments that are inappropriate before they have the chance to take on a life of their own (Anonymous, 2021).
Never speak ill of your manager or employer (or anyone for that matter) (Anonymous, 2021)
Use interesting means to generate participation from followers (CMPA, 2014).
References Anonymous. (2021). How to behave professionally online (7 steps). Wiki-How. Retrieved January 29, 2022, from https://www.wikihow.com/Behave-Professionally-on-Social-Mediacial-Media Canadian Medical Protective Association. (2014, October). Top 10 tips for using social media in professional practice. CMPA-ACPM. Retrieved January 15, 2022, from https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/en/advice-publications/browse-articles/2014/top-10-tips-for-using-social-media-in-professional-practice College of Massage Therapists of Ontario. (2019). Code of Ethics. Ori, E. (2022). Week 1 discussion forum: Social media audit (Forum). MHST 601 Moodle Forum. https://cnhs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=916664 Serniwka, K. (2021, July 20). Online presence for physicians: Appropriate use of social media. SISKINDS | The law firm. Retrieved January 15, 2022, from https://www.siskinds.com/online-presence-for-physicians-appropriate-use-of-social-media/ Walden University. (n.d.). How to use social media professionally. Retrieved January 29, 2022, from https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/resource/how-to-use-social-media-professionally
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