The Effects of a Social Media Policy on Pharmacy Students’ Facebook Security Settings

Abstract

Objective. To examine how students entering a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program used Facebook privacy settings before and after the college's social media policy was presented to them. Methods. The Facebook profiles of all entering first-year pharmacy students across 4 campuses of a college of pharmacy were evaluated. Ten dichotomous variables of interest were viewed and recorded for each student's Facebook account at 3 time points: before the start of the semester, after presentation of the college's social media policy, and at the end of the semester. Data on whether a profile could be found and what portions of the profile were viewable also were collected. Results. After introduction of the policy, a significant number of students increased their security settings (made information not visible to the public) related to Facebook walls, information pages, and links. Conclusions. Making pharmacy students aware of a college's social media policy had a positive impact on their behaviors regarding online security and privacy.

Personal Digital Branding as a Professional Asset in the Digital Age

“…Educators have framed these persona separation issues in negative terms by instructing students on what not to do, 7 but unintended consequences could accompany those well-meaning warnings. As Cho and Salmon explain in their discussion of health communications, the unintended effect could be the creation of an "epidemic of apprehension."…”

“…While social media policies are necessary, focus on policy alone can ignore the potential advantages of social media use, and explicitly or inexplicitly may encourage students to hide their digital presence through security settings or abstain from using social media altogether. 7 While effectively removing one's social media profile from public view is desirable to pharmacists wishing to keep their private and professional lives separate, there are potential downsides of doing so.…”

Third-year medical students’ knowledge of privacy and security issues concerning mobile devices

“…Most of the research that has been done on social media use in medicine relates to professionalism (Gorrindo et al 2008;Chretien et al 2009;Strausburg 2011;Williams et al 2011) and the benefit of using social media (Ben-Yakov & Snider 2011;Tilt et al 2011;Wells 2011), but very little specifically addresses these topics in terms of privacy and security of mobile devices (Schuerenberg 2003;Pharow & Blobel 2008). While 128 out of all 132 accredited US medical schools have student guidelines available online, only 13 out of those 128 have guidelines/policies explicitly mentioning social media (Kind et al 2010).…”

Social Media and Unprofessional Pharmacist Conduct: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Boards of Pharmacy

“…1 Using social media, pharmacists may easily publish statuses, photos, and videos directly into the public domain; and there is increased need for education and informed guidance for both pharmacy practitioners and students on what constitutes professional and appropriate behavior. 4,11,12 In 2012, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) published recommendations for the use of social media by health systems, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. ASHP recommends that health systems weigh the benefits of social media with the potential liability it creates, and develop and adhere to best practices.…”