778 - Social Media Use Among Medical Students: Its use as a source of career information and its association with depression, anxiety, and perceived stress

Objectives: Our study aims to explore the use of social media among medical students, the relationship between internet addiction and mental health issues, and the reasons for following medical-related social media accounts among medical students.

Design: PARTICIPANTS:
Participants must be medical students currently enrolled at a Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine campus: Middletown; Harlem; Nevada; California. N=703.

MEASURES:
Stress was measured with a 10-item perceived stress scale (PSS). Anxiety and depression were measured with PHQ-4. Internet use dependence was assessed with Young’s internet addiction scale.

Results: Participants who scored higher on the PSS were more likely to have daily use of social media (r=.208, p< 0.05).

Participants who scored moderate or high on the PSS were more likely to have anxiety (r=0.467, p< 0.05) and depression (r=0.323, p< 0.05).

Participants with higher PSS scores are more likely to be dependent internet users (r=0.127, p< 0.05).

Higher anxiety and depression scores on the PHQ-4 scale correlated with higher score on Young’s internet addiction scale (anxiety: r=0.283, p< 0.05; depression: r=0.186, p< 0.05).

Conclusions: Our results align with Avci’s study as medical students’ attitudes towards social media was based on professional usefulness. The expansion of social media provides an avenue for medical students to access more information and better understand the residency/postgraduate process.

PSS score discrepancy between years 1/2 and years 3/4 are likely multifactorial in nature (board exam preparation, adjusting to medical school, baseline mental wellness, etc.).

Our results conflict with Alsabaani et al.’s study; however, they are consistent with other reports of social media use and increased depression and anxiety among young adults. Whether this is dependent on social media use is unclear in our study. Some medical social media influencers may glamorize the lifestyle of medical professionals and perpetuate a misconception that physicians and medical students do not struggle; worsening mental health.