How Does Social Media Influence Patients’ Understanding of Dermatologic Information?

Fully 90% of survey respondents perceived social media information to be sometimes, mostly, or extremely helpful and trustworthy.

Social media users trust what’s out there about dermatologic conditions and make healthcare decisions based on this information for better or for worse, according to research presented at the 2nd Annual Dermatology Therapeutics Symposium (DTS) in Austin, Texas.

“Healthcare professionals have a critical role in embracing social media’s influence to counter misinformation,” concluded study authors led by Jennifer Soung, MD, the director of clinical research at Southern California Dermatology in Santa Ana, CA.

For the study, researchers examined which social media platforms were most commonly used to obtain dermatologic information and how they influenced patients’ behaviors via an online survey. Participants were U.S. adults aged 21-95, had seen a dermatologist in the last 6 months, and used social media to research their skin/nails/hair condition

The most preferred social media platform was YouTube (26%). People tended to trust information if it was from a doctor (64%) or another patient (50%). Fully 90% of respondents perceived social media information to be sometimes, mostly, or extremely helpful and trustworthy.

TikTok had the lowest percentage of users (62%), but respondents recorded the highest percentages for trying a new product (95%), consulting with a doctor (95%), asking their doctor a question (89%), and questioning a doctor’s advice (87%) on this platform.

The research was also conducted by Ethan Yu, a high school student, and Kylee Wang, a pre-med student.