The impact of social media on patient behavior in aesthetic treatments: Decreased influence on patients at a reference center for aesthetic ultrasonography.

Abstract

Social media (SM) has a significant impact on the public awareness of dermatologic conditions, as well as the perception of beauty and aesthetic pursuits of patients; however, they increase the risk of self-diagnosis and misinterpretation of clinical conditions as aesthetic ones. We discuss the risks of self-diagnosis, including delays in proper diagnosis or complications in treatment due to not seeking specific dermatologic assessment promptly, with tools such as high-resolution ultrasound. We specifically examined how SM influences patient behavior in aesthetic medicine by focusing on a group of patients seeking high-resolution ultrasound for diagnostic or aesthetic reasons at a specialized center for aesthetic ultrasonography. A total of 140 respondents (115 women, or 82.14%) completed a survey assessing their behaviors and attitudes related to SM. Among these, 37 respondents (26.4%) sought ultrasonography for aesthetic-related reasons. Interestingly, 66.43% of the participants reported having minimal or no influence from SM in their decision to undergo an aesthetic procedure, whereas only 19.29% felt moderately or highly influenced by SM. These findings suggest that our group of patients experienced less influence from SM compared with studies conducted on the general population. This difference may be attributed to the fact that most participants were referred by a dermatologist or surgeon, thus their access to dermatologic information was directly influenced by these professionals. Dermatologists should actively counter misinformation in clinical settings by ensuring clear communication to reduce patient misconceptions and educate them about the limitations of SM.