Social media as a disruptor for academic congresses

Over the past few years, social media has become integral to surgical communication, research, and patient education. Furthermore, they have revolutionized how academic congresses have been held over the past 10 years. There are several benefits resulting from social media integration in scientific meetings, such as disseminating content, increasing engagement, highlighting important messages, and educating patients and physicians. Furthermore, social media platforms provide free and equal engagement of all users; no matter the experience, the level of training, or the socioeconomic background, all participants are free to express their opinion and discuss with world-renowned experts-an opportunity that was available only for the few and privileged ones in the past. Nevertheless, when talking about social media, one must bear in mind that there is a huge variety of platforms that are not all equally used or universally accessed. Besides the benefits highlighted above, this new social media-enhanced reality has some disadvantages as well: lack of any control of content along with anonymity can sometimes lead to dangerous and hostile behaviors as well as set the playground for personal feuds, ulterior financial motives, and bullying. Furthermore, the accuracy of content could be somewhat controversial, especially when pieces of presentations are taken out of context. Violations of intellectual property and copyrights are also to be considered. Social media platforms are a great tool for enhancing academic congresses when appropriately used. It is undebatable that social media has changed how information, content, and material are shared and promoted. Nevertheless, as with everything in life, their use needs to be in "good measure"-appropriate, mindful, and respectful-so that social media can be a powerful tool instead of a dangerous weapon in inappropriate hands.