Social Media Application in Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic; Pros and Cons: A Systematic Review

Ahmadreza Shamsabadi; Ava Pashaei; Nahid Rahmani; Arezoo Dehghani Mahmoodabadi; Solmaz Norouzi; Fateme Bahador; SeyedAhmad SeyedAlinaghi; Omid Dadras; Kowsar Qaderi; Esmaeil Mehraeen

doi:10.18502/jimc.v6i3.12841

Ahmadreza Shamsabadi Department of Health Information Technology, Esfarayen Faculty of Medical Science, Esfarayen, Iran
Ava Pashaei School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nahid Rahmani Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center; Department of Physiotherapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Arezoo Dehghani Mahmoodabadi Department of Health Information Technology and Management, Health Technology Assessment and Medical Informatics Research Center, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Solmaz Norouzi Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Fateme Bahador Department of Health Information Technology, Ferdows Paramedical School, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
SeyedAhmad SeyedAlinaghi Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High Risk Behaviors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Omid Dadras Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Graduate School of Medicine, Bergen University, Bergen, Norway
Kowsar Qaderi School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Esmaeil Mehraeen Department of Health Information Technology, Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences, Khalkhal, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v6i3.12841

Keywords: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Education, Learning, Medical education, Social media

Abstract

Background: In addition to morbidity and mortality, the COVID-19 pandemic affected various fields such as medical and academic education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the types of social media used in medical and academic education and identify their advantages and disadvantages.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted to identify published studies related to the effects of social media on medical and academic education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The retrieved records were screened in a two-step process; first by title/abstract and then by full text by two independent researchers and the most relevant studies were selected applying the eligibility criteria.

Results: Facebook, YouTube, Zoom, WhatsApp, Moodle, and Skype were the most used platforms. The main purpose of using these applications was to provide distance education to students in the pandemic era. The advantages of using online platforms outweighed the disadvantages. Advantages include the availability of information at any time and place, maintaining communication between students and classmates and instructors, and the possibility of presenting conferences and assignments. Disadvantages comprised infrastructure and internet problems.

Conclusion: Social media and messengers have a great potential to meet educational purposes in the epidemic era. Although online platforms can serve as an efficient public repository of learning resources, achieving this needs some prerequisite and infrastructural tasks.