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In response to David Hutchinson's reply I would like to point out that we have not concluded that only young people use Facebook. What we have demonstrated is that there is likely to be a considerable age-gap in the perceptions of the purpose of Facebook, how Facebook is used and how often it is used.
In actual fact these comments act to reinforce the exact issue we are pointing out. It is difficult to explain in a rapid response how important social connectivity is to the younger generations of medical students but we are always 'connected' with the use of smart phones and while Dr. Hutchinson is only interested in connecting occassionaly with friends or family students are part of a much wider e-community. It is common for students whilst at university to have over 1000 Facebook friends so the role that Facebook plays in their lives is not just one of connecting with a smaller social circle, it is a way of staying up to date with the university community as a wider social circle. Facebook and similar social networking websites are very delicately woven into the social fabric of a younger, modern society.
This connectivity is unlikely to die down in the early years of clinical practice. In actual fact how the current 'generation Y' will continue to use these social networking sites in the future is completely unpredictable.
The key point to take is that yes - people of all ages use Facebook. But what it means to them, its purpose as a social tool and the amount of use differs completely across the generations. As such we concluded that perhaps senior medical professionals such as David Hutchinson are not the best placed to impose universal novel guidance when there is such a clear gulf in mutual understanding on the subject area. If this is not taken into account then this will inevitably be an area of professionalism that is highly contested over the coming years.
The GMC and BMA should also consider the approaches taken in Australia and New Zealand, where the medical student associations played a key role in producing recommended guidelines.
The author of this article is incorrect in assuming that only young
people use Facebook. It is in fact used by people of all ages. I am 62 and
have had a Facebook account for several years now. To be honest I don't
know why doctors would want to use Facebook. I find that the majority of
postings I have observed are mainly trivia and of little real value. I
might add that I mainly observe and rarely post except to members of my
family and personal friends.
David Hutchinson
Hon Secretary to BMA Northern Division (Northern Ireland)
Re: Is it time for medicine to update its Facebook status?
In response to David Hutchinson's reply I would like to point out that we have not concluded that only young people use Facebook. What we have demonstrated is that there is likely to be a considerable age-gap in the perceptions of the purpose of Facebook, how Facebook is used and how often it is used.
In actual fact these comments act to reinforce the exact issue we are pointing out. It is difficult to explain in a rapid response how important social connectivity is to the younger generations of medical students but we are always 'connected' with the use of smart phones and while Dr. Hutchinson is only interested in connecting occassionaly with friends or family students are part of a much wider e-community. It is common for students whilst at university to have over 1000 Facebook friends so the role that Facebook plays in their lives is not just one of connecting with a smaller social circle, it is a way of staying up to date with the university community as a wider social circle. Facebook and similar social networking websites are very delicately woven into the social fabric of a younger, modern society.
This connectivity is unlikely to die down in the early years of clinical practice. In actual fact how the current 'generation Y' will continue to use these social networking sites in the future is completely unpredictable.
The key point to take is that yes - people of all ages use Facebook. But what it means to them, its purpose as a social tool and the amount of use differs completely across the generations. As such we concluded that perhaps senior medical professionals such as David Hutchinson are not the best placed to impose universal novel guidance when there is such a clear gulf in mutual understanding on the subject area. If this is not taken into account then this will inevitably be an area of professionalism that is highly contested over the coming years.
The GMC and BMA should also consider the approaches taken in Australia and New Zealand, where the medical student associations played a key role in producing recommended guidelines.
Competing interests: No competing interests