What do Patients Want to See on Social Media? Evidence From a Two-Year Experiment

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Social Media Analytics
• Public Health Communication

Background:

• Misleading dermatological information from non-experts is prevalent on social media.
• Dermatologists are encouraged to establish an online presence to counter this.
• Existing successful dermatologist social media presences often overemphasize cosmetic dermatology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically identify the most popular dermatological topics among the public on social media.
• To assess the feasibility of dermatologists achieving social media influence while covering the full spectrum of dermatology.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 101 videos from an educational dermatology YouTube channel over two years.
• Categorization of videos into cosmetic dermatology (51) and medical dermatology (50).
• Statistical comparison of video views using Student's t-test and Kruskal-Wallis test across categories (cosmetic, acne, facial dermatoses, other).

Main Results:

• No significant difference in views between cosmetic and medical dermatology videos.
• Cosmetic dermatology and acne videos garnered significantly more views than other medical dermatology topics.
• Public engagement is concentrated on specific, high-interest areas within dermatology.

Conclusions:

• Public interest in dermatology on social media leans heavily towards cosmetic procedures and acne.
• Achieving balanced representation of all dermatological topics may challenge social media influence.
• Leveraging popular topics offers a viable pathway for dermatologists to build influence and disseminate accurate information, thereby mitigating online health misinformation.