Neurosurgery and the rise of academic social media: what neurosurgeons should know

ocial media has evolved to take on a major role in the personal and professional lives of people across the world.As of 2016, Pew Research Center data es timates that 86% of US adults used the Internet, of whom 79%, 24%, 32%, and 29% used Facebook, Twitter, Insta gram, and LinkedIn, respectively.12 In parallel, social media use among clinicians, including neurosurgeons, neurosurgical departments, and neurosurgical journals, has increased exponentially over the past 3 years.2,4,6,10,11,19 Given this dramatic rise and the increasing emphasis be ing placed on social media in professional networking, pa tient recruitment and education, and the dissemination or discussion of new scientific knowledge, our objective was to highlight the potential benefits and risks of developing a social media presence for members of the neurosurgical community in particular, as well as offer a preliminary guide for the novice social media user.