Social Media and the Impact it has on the Self-esteem of our Patients.
Dr Stefan Coetzee, BChD (Pretoria)
Dental practitioners have begun using social media to benefit patients, enhance professional networks and advance understanding of individual and contextual factors influencing patient care.
The Centre for Collegiate Mental Health found that the three most commonly diagnosed mental health conditions among students in the year 2012 were Anxiety, Depression and Stress. Numerous studies in the UK, USA and Canada have linked these with the use of social media.1
The life people portray on social media can often differ considerably from their actual reality. Can the same be said when it comes to dentistry/dental aesthetics?
How are we, as dental professionals, contributing to the patient’s self-esteem in a world that is ruled by likes and shares, and are we the reason for the shift of dentistry from being primarily based on healthcare, to becoming based more on consumerism?2,3
With the constant exposure to Instamodels and photoshopped, filtered pictures of friends and peers, we are bombarded on a daily basis to unknowingly compare ourselves to what we are exposed to; and with an advertisement from the dental practice around the corner, it has become easy to attain that much-desired Hollywood smile.
It is no secret that a change in one’s smile could change how one sees and pursues life. Does that also mean the same for you and your patient’s online presence?
If happiness could at least in part be measured/affected by the number of likes and shares you get on social media, would an aesthetic, straight, white smile increase the amount of likes and shares and in turn increase your happiness?
Forget about oil and alternative fuel. Data - or perhaps ‘social currency’ - is the new commodity. Discussion of the dangers of these technologies in the medical profession and dentistry should not be overlooked when considering its positive applications.
1. Locke BD, Bieschke KJ, Castonguay LG, Hayes JA. The Center for Collegiate Mental Health Through an Innovative Research Infrastructure That Brings Science and Practice Together. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2012 July. 20(4):233-45.
2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicabaron/2018/11/30/social-media-bad-medicine/#7bbc1b4d62e1
3. George DR, Rovniak LS, Kraschnewski JL. Dangers and opportunities for social media in medicine. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Sep; 56(3): 10.1097
Follow