Exploring Social Media Usage among Medical Students and Its Potentials in Learning
Authors:   Medical Education Center, Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, Greviana Nadia ,   Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, Wiyarta Elvan ,   Medical Education Center, Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia,   Undergraduate Program in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, Novarianto Justinus K ,   Medical Education Center, Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia,   Medical Education Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Katolik Soegijapranata, Semarang, Indonesia, Supranoto Yehuda TN ,   Medical Education Center, Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia,   Undergraduate Program in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Jember, Jember, INDONESIA, Ayusha Maritza Andreanne R ,   Medical Education Center, Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia,   Undergraduate Program in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, Hanum Chaina ,   Medical Education Center, Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, Hidayah Rachmadya Nur ,   Department of Medical Education and Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sari Sylvia Mustika ,   Medical Education and Bioethics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani, Cimahi Indonesia, Wijaya Diani Puspa ,   Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Riezky Ade Kiki ,   Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Abulyatama, Aceh, Indonesia, Adista Muhammad Ansari ,   Undergraduate Program in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Aceh, Indonesia, Marlina Mona ,   Medical Education Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Pelita Harapan University, Tangerang, Indonesia, Abriya Witri ,   Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Yarsi, Jakarta, Indonesia, Ivone July ,   Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Maranatha Christian University, Bandung, Indonesia, Ummah Fithriyah C. ,   Medical Education, Research and Staff Development Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia, Nurikhwan Pandji Winata ,   Department of Medical Education, School of Medical, Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, Banjarmasin, Indonesia, Qomariyah Nurul ,   Medical Education Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Atta Komal ,   Department of Medical Education, University Medical and Dental College, Faisalabad, Pakistan, Findyartini Ardi ,   Medical Education Center, Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia,   Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Published: January 2025

The growth of social media as instant interactive platforms for students has significantly affected medical education practices. Despite its reported disadvantages for student learning, the rapid development of social media warrants an examination of its relevance and potential as a learning tool for medical students. This study thus explored the use of social media by medical students and its potential for supporting their learning. This cross-sectional study adopted a descriptive approach. Preclinical and clinical-year medical students from 43 medical schools in Indonesia completed a questionnaire inquiring into social media use by individuals and their reasons for such use. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyse the data. The analysis of the data retrieved from 1,122 respondents revealed the most common social media platforms used by medical students and various usage purposes. Further, this study revealed that social media assists students in learning through three processes: (a) it increases communication, collaboration and resource sharing, which enables flexible and timely access to a broad range of information; (b) it enhances learning motivation by facilitating engagement with role models and motivating content; and (c) it supports personal and learning skills development. Medical students reported using a variety of social media platforms, but few did so with the aim of supporting their learning. However, social media can potentially assist student learning through its capacity to increase collaboration and flexibility, enhance motivation and support personal and professional development. Therefore, creating socialmedia-based learning strategies that are appropriate and meet students’ learning needs could help students improve both personally and professionally.