Social media: the good, the bad and the ugly

With everyone writing about social media—particularly in healthcare—one can’t help wondering if like every other area of IT, health and social care professionals are again on the back end of the early adopters curve.

It seems years ago—and probably was—that I was listening to a BBC Radio 4 programme about the upsurge in the use of Facebook and Bebo. There were various characters debating the likely future of the use of social media, yet I remember one thing sticking in my mind. While this was (at that time) the domain of teenagers only, it was clear that social media was here to stay and would affect everybody. It didn’t even occur to me that one day I’d be sat in front of my computer trying to articulate the importance of social media to health and social care professionals, and particularly, allied health professionals.

Despite the natural cynicism that many of us (especially clinicians) may have felt towards the use of social media, there is undoubtedly some good.