Citation

Parker R. J. Child Health Care 2020; 24(2): 163-164.

Affiliation

The Cochrane Collaboration, London, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1367493520923204

PMID

32394747

Abstract

My Twitter profile (@Roses_Parker) informs me that I joined Twitter in March 2016. I was told that Twitter was important for research so I obediently signed up and tentatively ‘hatched’ my first Tweet. From there things grew. I am now JCHC’s Associate Editor for Social Media and I founded and manage the Twitter account for one of the Cochrane Collaboration’s eight networks. Still, I don’t consider myself an expert at social media, I feel have a lot to learn. However, I have certainly come a long way. It seems appropriate for me to use this space to share my journey, inspire use of social media, and guide readers to support its use.

Social media, a result of the technological revolution, surrounds us constantly in both personal and professional spheres. It includes Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, blogs, Pinterest, YouTube, Sina Weibo, WeChat and many others not listed. No doubt more platforms are being designed right now. I will focus on Twitter but know that most of this can be applied elsewhere.

Originally I was told Twitter was important for researchers to use as self-promotion in a society where if you don’t promote yourself you will fall behind because others certainly will. This is indeed a benefit of Twitter @JournalofCHC and I are always happy for more ‘followers’ but the purpose of this editorial is not to discuss the self-promotion aspect of Twitter. I cannot claim my use of Twitter is entirely absent self-promotion but I can say this not my main purpose. Neither is it the reason I am so passionate about Twitter and why I am writing to encourage your use of it. If you want to use it for personal gain, then you will certainly gain. But I am here to talk about how we can use Twitter to help patients ...

Language: en