Social Media: An Emerging Tool in Medical Education

Abstract

Social Media are “all websites and applications that enable users to create and share content, to interact with other users or to find people with similar interests to one's own”.¹ Students of twenty first century are “digital natives” and use social media daily necessitating the need for its incorporation in teaching and learning in medicine. Furthermore, global interconnectivity means future doctors need to learn and master the skill of social media use.

Social media broadly encompasses multiple platforms, including social networking sites [SNS] like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn; Media sharing sites [MSS] like YouTube; blogs; Wikis; video and text messaging services such as Skype, WhatsApp; and Learning management systems [LMSs] (including Moodle, Blackboard) etc.