Laryngectomy: Social media analysis of patient perception.

Abstract

Social media continues to grow as a relevant information source for the lay public and medical professionals. A search of posts on Facebook and Instagram was conducted using the hashtag #laryngectomy. Posts were categorized based upon perspective, media type, timeframe, topic, tone, and popularity. Final analysis included 929 Instagram posts and 355 Facebook posts. Most Facebook posts were made by companies (38%) and physicians (17%) with information (30%) and advertisements (22%) being common topics. Patients (40%) were the largest group of Instagram authors with lifestyle (39%) being the most common topic. Greater than 90% of posts were either neutral or positive in tone across both platforms. Patient perspective was most commonly represented on Instagram, whereas Facebook more commonly included posts by physicians and companies. The majority of posts carried a neutral or positive tone, which is consistent with positive quality of life patients have shown postoperatively.