P3.030: Tiktok like the Clock? An Understanding of Social Media Communication Comfort and Proficiency in Pediatric Clinicians

Background: Growing evidence on the impact of social media on adolescents has led to the creation of numerous resources through the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). There is limited research on clinicians’ personal and clinical exposure to social media, comfort communicating to pediatric populations about social media, and their understanding of risks and benefits of social media use, which can guide future development of educational trainings and resources on this topic

Methods: This single-site, cross-sectional survey evaluated three domains: personal social media usage, exposure to social media in clinical practice and training, and proficiency in social media knowledge, which was assessed through validated multiple-choice questions based on AAP’s media recommendations. Anonymous surveys were distributed via Qualtrics and t-tests comparing attending and resident comfort and proficiency scores were conducted on STATA BE 18.0.

Results: The study included 37 respondents: 14 attendings (37%) and 23 pediatric residents (63%). A majority (60%) reported using social media for 1-3 hours daily. Despite frequent discussions about social media in clinical settings (71% encountered the topic greater than 5x/month), 67% of participants had never attended an educational session on social media use in pediatric populations. When tested on the AAP’s official recommendations for social media usage and impact, participants scored an average of 1.8 out of 4 points, with no significant differences between attendings and residents (p=0.73). On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being extremely uncomfortable and 5 being extremely comfortable, respondents feel comfortable talking to all age groups about screen time (Infants = 4, Toddlers = 4.2, Elementary Aged = 4.1, Adolescents = 4.2, and Parents = 3.9). Residents felt less comfortable than attendings in speaking to families of infants about screen time (p =.02) but there were no differences in average comfort ratings between attendings and residents for other age groups. Participants expressed greater comfort in addressing social media needs of LGBTQIA+ adolescents and adolescents seeking reproductive health information and felt least confident in identifying social media-based resources for patients with chronic illnesses such as Type 1 diabetes. Participants also felt most comfortable talking about platforms they used such as Instagram and Facebook, but least comfortable with platforms like Discord, where respondents had limited experience. In free-text responses, participants mentioned that social media often reduces attention span during clinic visits and that they frequently navigate medical content shared on social media.

Conclusion: Though comfortable in conversing about social media, pediatric trainees and attendings have significant gaps in social media education, particularly in knowledge of the evidence base and addressing specific patient populations. Curricular planning should target both trainees and attendings and expose participants to various social media platforms as well as the risks and benefits of social media usage.