Instagram’s Influence on Radiology Today: Reviewing the Evolving Educational Journey from a Hospital to National Societies

We define social media as an interactive online platform that allows users to communicate and exchange knowledge. Educational and medical profiles have slowly emerged on different social media platforms, helping to teach about and publicize diverse aspects of medicine. Radiology is one of the specialties that could potentially benefit the most from social media, as the radiologist tends to have little outside-the-hospital representation. Progressively, audiovisual content has been gaining ground on social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, etc. Instagram appears to be ideally suited for radiology given its image-based nature. In addition, Instagram can also be used as a tool to help radiologists share and discuss radiological images, improve communication with clinicians and patients, advertise themselves and their specialty, and humanize their profession. Nevertheless, legal matters and privacy issues should always be taken into account when using these tools. In this overview, we describe the development of social networks and communication tools in our own radiology department, focusing especially on our Instagram account, as it has had a wide impact on our hospital and radiology residents around the country. We will also provide a summary of the various social media platforms used for radiology education along with their pros and cons, including useful tips for safe and efficient use.