14 Journal of Physical Therapy Education Vol 30, No 2, 2016 ———————————————————- RESEARCH REPORT ———————————————-———- Social Media and Mobile Technology Use Among Physical Therapist Students: A Multisite Descriptive Study Kendra Gagnon, PT, PhD, Carla Sabus, PT, PhD, Eric Robertson, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT, and Mary K. Derrick, PT, DPT Eighteen percent of students reported they felt comfortable using social media for professional purposes. Eighty-four percent agreed that smartphones and tab- lets would be part of their future practice, but only 16% indicated they had received instruction on mobile and internet tech- nology competencies. Limitations. Te fndings of this study may be limited by response bias and may not refect technology competency and utilization of the population of doctor of physical therapy (DPT) students. Conclusions. PT students primarily use mobile devices and social media for per- sonal purposes. Few students feel com- fortable using these technologies for professional purposes despite the fact that they overwhelmingly anticipate that they will use them in future practice. Educa- tors should consider including mobile technology and social media use in the PT curriculum to prepare students for pro- fessional application of technology tools. Key Words: Instructional technology, Pro- fessional issues, Technology in physical therapist education. Rapid and easy access to information via the Internet and social networks has impact- ed health care, infuencing the fow of health information to and from consumers, institu- tions, organizations, and providers. Patients and caregivers frequently use search engines for health information, “googling” symptoms and ofen self-diagnosing conditions. 3 In- creasingly, consumers are using mobile de- vices to access health information or to track their own health using health-related mobile apps. 4 Studies reveal that mobile devices and social media sites such as Facebook increas- ingly provide patients and caregivers with forums for support and information sharing related to topics such as long-term disability, 5 diabetes, 6,7 breast cancer, 8 and preterm birth. 9 Health care organizations and institutions have responded to the consumer demand for online information and support. Nearly every hospital in the United States has a website, and there are thousands of hospital-run social media sites on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. 10 Individual health care providers and students are also using mobile devices and social me- dia sites in increasing numbers, both in their personal and professional lives. 11-17 Tere is a growing of body of evidence outlining both the challenges and oppor- tunities associated with mobile device use and online professionalism among health care providers, including physical therapists (PTs). 18–29 As health information has become increasingly mobile and social, attention has turned to how technologies are being used by students in training programs for health pro- fessions such as physical therapy. Recent re- search suggests that large numbers of health professional students use technologies such as social media sites and mobile devices in their daily lives, and these students are be- ginning to use (or are interested in using) these technologies for educational or profes- sional purposes. 30,31 Specifcally, Maloney Kendra Gagnon is an associate professor of physical therapy at Rockhurst University, 1100 Rockhurst Road, Kansas City, MO 64110 (ken- dra.gagnon@rockhurst.edu). Please address all correspondence to Kendra Gagnon. Carla Sabus is an assistant professor of physi- cal therapy at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Eric Robertson is the director of Kaiser Perma- nente Northern California Graduate Physical Terapy Education, Oakland, CA. Mary Derrick is a fellow-in-training at Evidence in Motion, LLC, Lexington, KY. Te authors report no conficts of interest. Tis research was approved by the Institutional Review Board at each participating university. Received November 17, 2014, and accepted August 1, 2015. Background. Advances in mobile and web-based technologies have changed the way that health information is accessed and shared. However, technology utiliza- tion among physical therapist (PT) stu- dents remains unclear. Objective. Te purpose of this study was to describe technology utilization and comfort with use among PT students in the United States. Design. Tis was a cross-sectional study. Methods. Students in 3 PT programs were invited to participate in a paper- based survey on social media and smart- phone/tablet use. Results. In all, 299 PT students completed the survey. Of that total, 83% of students owned a smart phone and 34% owned a tablet. Primary uses of mobile devices were to send and receive text messages and email and to access social media. On a daily basis, 84% of respondents reported using Facebook for personal purposes, 49% for academic purposes, and 12% for professional purposes. Similar trends were observed for Twitter and LinkedIn. INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, the explosion of social media sites and the rise of mobile internet ac- cess through devices such as smart phones and tablets has changed the way that individ- uals access and share information. In 2005, 8% of Americans used a social networking site. By 2013, over 70% accessed at least 1 so- cial networking site, and the majority of those did so daily. Furthermore, 42% of Americans use more than 1 social networking site. 1 In 2011, less than 10% of Americans owned a tablet and approximately one-third owned a smart phone. By early 2014, 42% of Ameri- cans owned a tablet and 58% owned a smart phone. 2