Social media, advertising, and internet use among general and bariatric surgeons

The use of the internet and technology has increased, and its implication with medicine is inevitable. Along with these technologies, social media platforms have changed the interaction between peers, forcing an evolution on medical activities and patient relationship. There is no clear information on how surgeons interact with these platforms within their daily practice.

A transverse study with a survey obtained from general and bariatric surgeons from Mexico was performed, aimed to gather information about social media platforms use (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn). Personal, professional, academic, and marketing activities were analyzed and compared between general and bariatric surgeons. Secondly, the same analysis was performed in younger participants. Other variables were also analyzed, such as type of marketing and monthly budget.

We obtained 523 surveys (84.1% general and 15.8% bariatric surgeons), where male gender comprised 86.4%. Almost a third considered social media as an important tool. In 53% of the cases, Facebook was preferred for professional activities; Twitter was the second most used. Bariatric surgeons were younger, used all platforms more frequently, and preferred Facebook for every activity. They also invested more in publicity, and showed wider marketing methods than general surgeons.

There is an important awareness of internet and social media use among general and bariatric surgeons. Facebook leads the activities for both specialties (personal, professional, academic, and marketing), but bariatric surgeons are significantly more involved; additionally, there are more marketing strategies and investment among them.