SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT ON PROFESSIONAL AND PROFILE LEVELS OF DENTAL STUDENTS AND INTERNS IN SAUDI ARABIA
Dr Aliyaa Zaidan, BDS, and *Dr. Rayan Bahabri, BDS, DDS, CAGS.
ABSTRACT
Backgrounds: Social networking is a web-based channel that people use to communicate with one another and
express their thoughts, opinions and experiences. The Internet and social media are the most effective
communication methods in Saudi Arabia. Objective: To evaluate the impact of using social media on professional
and profile level among dental students in Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional study developed via online
questionnaire. The survey consisted of four major sections: demographic data, use of social networking, online
privacy and profile, and professionalism and social networking. Results: A total of 296 dental students and interns
in Saudi Arabia responded to the questionnaire. Regarding profile reputation, 40% of the respondents agreed that
others to judge their level of professionalism could use their profile information published on social networking
websites. The discrepancy among student levels reveals that social media profiles positively influence the
acceptance to postgraduate programs (P= 0.01). Conclusion: Social media and online activities can be a doubleedged
sword with negative and positive impacts on professional and profile levels of dental students in Saudi
Arabia.
Keywords: Dental students, profile, professionalism and social media.
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