Social media as a learning tool: Dental students’ perspectives

Abstract

Objectives: This study explored the perceptions of dental students in Saudi Arabia for implementing social media as an educational tool. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among dental students in 3 governmental dental schools in the western region of Saudi Arabia. A validated questionnaire was used to explore social media use and student perceptions on the advantages and disadvantages of implementing social media in dental education. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's’ χ2, Kruskal-Wallis, and Fishers’ exact tests were used for data analysis. Results: The survey included 1034 students from third to sixth year and dental interns. WhatsApp was the most used social media platform (97.5%), followed by Snapchat (90.5%), Twitter (85.2%), and Instagram (83.4%). Social media was used for entertainment (81.4%), dental learning (70.8%), searching for general information (63.3%), exchanging general ideas (63.1%), and community general discussion (55.8%). The predominant advantages of using social media in learning were assistance in gaining more information on different subjects, making education more engaging, affording a better chance to access new resources, improving the ability for creativity and innovation, and improving research skills. In contrast, the predominant disadvantages were distraction from studying, increasing addictive potential, increased time spent, and concerns over no direct contact with the instructors. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that students report social media can be a valuable learning tool in dental education if appropriately used. A proper understanding of social media and its usefulness in supporting learning can benefit both students and faculty members.