Opening Doors of Communication: Social Media Trends and Challenges

“It is our imperative to be educated on social media,” Luke Maxfield, DO, told Dermatology Times regarding his session at the 2024 Society for Dermatology Physician Assistant Annual Summer Dermatology Conference in San Diego, California. Maxfield and his co-presenter, Muneeb Shah, DO, dived into the world of social media to discuss trends and common dermatology and skincare myths and misinformation that patients may be accessing.

Maxfield explained it is a different world, and patients are being educated by the information available on social media, so it is important to be aware of what’s out there and what they are hearing and then to engage in meaningful conversations with patients.

He likes to ask patients about the trends and items that interest them. He said patients may say talk about what they have seen from social influencers. “They're like, ‘Oh, you know, I've seen this crazy thing.’ And they do ask you out of a place of respect, usually because they do want your opinion as a medical professional. So I think an important thing to ask, ‘Well, why did this catch your eye? Why was this engaging? Why was this the solution that you felt might be the solution for you?’ And that opens up the conversation not only to the specific, nuanced, niche thing that they're asking you about, but it also opens up the door to other treatments.”

He said discussing rosemary oil is a good example of talking about the pros and cons of something that may be seen on social media. “You have a ton of people who walk into the office, and they just say, ‘I'm not going to use a chemical.’ Like they've already made up their mind before they got to the door before they met you. They are not going to use a chemical on their skin and no lengthy conversation about how water the chemical chemicals are everywhere, that is not meaningful to them. They've already internally had that debate. They've already made up their mind. So if you can speak to rosemary oil … you might be able to bring up other treatment options that are a middle ground like there's a middle ground.”

“Tea tree oil is always a great groundbreaker,” he added. “It's my favorite ingredient to talk about for that type of person, Because it's a very well studied “natural” plant-based ingredient. It also has very well documented adverse effects both topically and when ingested, it's a highly toxic compound. If you ingest it, it's very harmful to your body… It puts it in a new perspective for them so that you can—even within a period of one minute—quickly open the doors to new conversations, new ideas, new treatment options that you know will be helpful for them.”

Watch the video to learn more of Maxfield’s tips and advice for understanding and addressing social media trends to keep your patients safe.