Connectivity and Integration of Instagram® Use in the Lives of Dental Students and Professionals: A Country-Wide Cross-Sectional Study Using the InstaAA© Questionnaire

Priti Patil; Ajinkya M Pawar; Dian Agustin Wahjuningrum; Alexander Maniangat Luke; Rodolfo Reda; Luca Testarelli

doi:10.2147/JMDH.S430973

Connectivity and Integration of Instagram^® Use in the Lives of Dental Students and Professionals: A Country-Wide Cross-Sectional Study Using the InstaAA© Questionnaire

J Multidiscip Healthc. 2023 Oct 5:16:2963-2976. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S430973. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Priti Patil¹, Ajinkya M Pawar¹, Dian Agustin Wahjuningrum², Alexander Maniangat Luke^{3

4}, Rodolfo Reda⁵, Luca Testarelli⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Nair Hospital Dental College, Mumbai, MH, India.
² Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia.
³ Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Dentistry, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Center for Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research (CMBAHSR), Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
⁵ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Purpose: This study probed towards the impact of Instagram^® on the lives of dental students and professionals and how it affects their learning and professional performance.

Patients and methods: A 24-item copyrighted and validated questionnaire was employed to examine the affinity and aftermath of Instagram^® in the lives of dental students using a cross-sectional survey technique. Part I (6 questions) is the first of three sections included information on the participant's sociodemographic traits, Part II (8 questions) - Screened to determine Instagram^® use, and Part III (10 questions) - Was based on attitudes regarding Instagram^® to assess their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. It includes a Likert scale with ten questions. The sample was collected by combining convenience and snowball sampling approaches. The difference in proportion was assessed using frequency and percentage. The Chi Square test of proportion was used to the data to examine and a p value <0.05 was considered as the proportional difference.

Results: The study comprised 461 participants, with 155 (33.6%) men and 306 (66.4%) women, having an average age of 23.13 ± 4.95 years. Among the participants, a significant proportion (119, 25.8%) were dental interns. In terms of Instagram^® usage, 167 participants (36.2%) reported spending between 30 minutes and 1 hour on the platform (p<0.01). Approximately 52.5% acknowledged the influence of Instagram^® on their dressing, behaviour, and usage of other social media platforms (p<0.01). Moreover, 52.1% experienced common distractions while performing important tasks, and 40.6% reported negative effects on their mental and emotional well-being (p<0.05).

Conclusion: This research concludes by emphasizing the huge influence that Instagram^® has on dental workers' life. The results underline the necessity of striking a balance between social media use and academic and personal obligations while also emphasizing the need for knowledge and education about Instagram^® features and ramifications.

Keywords: Instagram®; dental professionals; dental students; mental impact; social media.