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2020: the era of social and global learning through connectivity

2020; Wiley; Volume: 17; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/tct.13221

1743-498X

Jill Thistlethwaite, Simon Fleming,

Misinformation and Its Impacts

In May, the Australian government began to ease the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions. Residents were allowed to invite two people into their homes. Who would be the first two chosen from one's network of individuals, many of whom would have been in contact virtually during the previous 5 weeks? This question prompted a thought about connectedness – a good topic with which to introduce the journal's new social media editor, Simon Fleming, who co-authors this editorial. Moreover, in this issue a toolbox article on ‘The connected educator’ posits that ‘an educator's impact is amplified through the power of connections’.1 Humans are social creatures: from our first beginnings we have formed groups and then communities. Social and professional connection is important to most of us and certainly to all readers of this journal. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines connectedness as ‘the degree to which a person or group is socially close, interrelated, or shares resources with other persons or groups’.2 It seems that throughout history the inner and most intimate layer of our network has numbered about five people, our close and useful connections number around 15, the tribe that we identify as belonging to numbers up to 50 and then our wider network reaches a maximum of around 150 individuals.3 Since the earliest 20th century, and as we settle into the 21st century, the human race has had the potential for more connectivity than ever before. Imagine how different lockdown would have been before the internet or even the telephone. Virtual interaction has helped us to stay in touch with our families, friends, colleagues, patients and students globally, but many of us still crave proximity and face to face close interactions, all the more so as time goes on. Of course, not everyone has equal opportunity to be online. For many, reliable internet is a luxury that they cannot afford or that is not readily available in their location, as emphasised in two Insights’ articles focused on COVID-19 in this issue.4, 5 Loneliness and a lack of human connection, even prior to COVID-19, are major determinants of health. Through time we have seen the effects on people that exile from their homelands, shunning through social rejection by their communities and, more generally, the impact of any kind of isolation or othering can have on one's well-being and mental health. In the United Kingdom there is a commonly used phrase of being ‘sent to Coventry’, possibly originating from the civil war in the 17th century, that means a person has been ostracised by his or her peers, who act as if that person no longer exists. This silence has a devastating effect. Many millions of adults worldwide are lonely and socially isolated as a result of the loss of family or family conflict, long-term health conditions, including depression and anxiety, a lack of mobility or being the victims of crime: a situation that has recently been recognised as a major public health problem and a potent killer.6 This has been apparent as a result of the current circumstances – perhaps to varying degrees, depending on location – and yet we are being asked (and in some cases told) to consciously isolate and to actively distance ourselves from others. In fact, the phrase ‘we show compassion by distancing’ has been used more than once. Low social connection will surely lead to poor mental health and to suicide. What is interesting is that the benefits of connectedness do not depend on the number of friends one has but from the subjective sense of feeling connected.7 A synonym of ostracise is excommunicate, however, and perhaps social media (and other tech) have meant that for once, this is not the case. We can be close yet far apart. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to re-evaluate not only the quantity of communication episodes that we have with others, but also the quality. For those with easier virtual access and connectivity, there are also challenges – technological advance does have a darker side. There can be pressure to keep up: with information, social media, appearance and productivity. Even the number of one's friends and Twitter followers can now be judged and found wanting. We are connected to a vast quantity of knowledge (and opinion) at the click of a keyboard but it can sometimes feel overwhelming with the amount of ‘stuff’ that finds its way into our inboxes and reminders every day. For clinicians and educators, it may seem that there is always another reference to look up, another journal article to check or another piece of ‘evidence’ to consider. Am I keeping up to date? FOMO (fear of missing out), defined as the fear that something better is happening somewhere without you, and particularly online, leads to the obsessive checking of social media and e-mails.8 One author of this editorial has also been known to experience JOMO (the joy of missing out), the rare feeling of knowing that you can put your feet up and watch from afar, without any of the stress of being somewhere in person – the deluge of podcasts, webinars and the like in recent months has further emphasised that sometimes it's actually better to be there remotely, rather than IRL (in real life). The role of social media and social networking sites in promoting health is interesting. Research suggests that their effects may be positive, if they lead to increased connection and social support, or negative if they fail to address users’ needs, such as acceptance and longing.9 Trolling is certainly not mood enhancing, nor is the provision of pseudoscience, fake news or even harmful ideas as ‘fact’. This is a perfect example of why social media is a powerful mirror of society: the number of followers does not equate to moral, ethical, scientific or behavioural rightness. (As an aside, some of the very closest friends your social media editor now has, both personal and professional, were first met through Twitter: ‘I once described social media to my mum as like having loads of pen pals, only faster and sometimes completely random people read your mail and send you letters, written entirely in capitals, to tell you they disagree …’.) We both agree that if a journal truly wishes knowledge to be as accessible, equitable and interactive as possible, then it must embrace the simple fact that social media are here to stay, whether as a tool for good or evil, to feed fear or to fight it, to challenge rumour with fact, hearsay with science or to bring joy rather than outrage. It's with this ethos that The Clinical Teacher and Medical Education now have a social media editor. The social media editor has the last paragraph: I am also a trainee (resident) with a unique tweet style, a propensity for gif and meme usage, and a desire to use social media not only to make you aware of the latest papers but also to start discourses and to build communities. Connect with us. See you online. @jthistlethwaite @OrthopodReg @ClinicalTeacher @MedEd_Journal