Social media and pediatric hospital medicine: how our discipline benefits from a virtual community and why it matters for our future.

Social media, defi ned as Internet-based applications that support the collaborative creation and exchange of user-generated content,1 is now part of our culture. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Doximity, blogs, and wikis are pervasive means of communication and information dissemination in our society. For physicians, this transparent way of communicating affects patient expectations, engagement, and education.2,3 Whether these methods are being used to network professionally, advocate for public health, or to provide patient outreach and education, physician use and awareness of social media infl uence their clinical practice and professional engagement.