Acne Information on Instagram: Quality of Content and the Role of Dermatologists on Social Media
March 2022 | Volume 21 | Issue 3 | 333 | Copyright © March 2022
Published online February 25, 2022
Suzanne C. Ward MD, Nathan W. Rojek MD
University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
Abstract
While it is evident that many patients turn to social media for information about skin care, the quality and content of available information are not well characterized. In this study, we investigated acne-related information available on Instagram, one of the most popular social media platforms. We searched for the “top” Instagram posts using the hashtag #acne and characterized them based on their source and content. Posts were excluded if they were unrelated, not in English, or duplicates. 900 posts were assessed, and 439 were included. A majority of the content (258 posts) was generated by influencers, followed by retailers (97) and non-dermatologist providers (67). Dermatologists were responsible for 17 posts, accounting for <4% of the included content. 124 separate ingredients were mentioned as potential acne treatments. The ingredients with the most mention were beta-hydroxy acids (eg, salicylic acid), alpha-hydroxy acids (eg, glycolic acid), vitamin C, niacinamide, and sunscreen. 254 posts recommended at least one specific intervention, and among these posts only 11% referenced a treatment with grade A evidence based on American Academy of Dermatology guidelines. A vast amount of content is readily available to patients on this platform. This content is heterogeneous in message and quality, and dermatologists are responsible for only a small portion of it.
J Drugs Dermatol. 2022;21(3): doi:10.36849/JDD.6411
INTRODUCTION
Common among adolescents and adults, acne vulgaris accounts for a significant portion of dermatology appointments.1 While there are a variety of safe, effective, and evidence-based treatments available, there are also numerous products for acne marketed on social media that are untested and/or show no benefit in treating acne vulgaris. Even for treatments with known efficacy, quality information can be difficult to locate on social media. A study of YouTube content regarding isotretinoin, a medication with strong evidence in treating acne vulgaris, found that videos were heterogeneous in terms of information quality, with the majority of videos in the poor to fair range.2 Only a minority of adults in this country are proficient in health literacy, suggesting that many patients may have difficulty differentiating sources with varying levels of information quality.3 In order to fully harness the potential of social media as a tool for educating our patients, we must first understand the current landscape of skin-related content available.
METHODS
In this study, we sought to characterize the acne-related information present on one of the most popular social media platforms: Instagram. We searched for the “top†Instagram posts using the hashtag #acne and analyzed them based on their source and content. Posts were excluded if they were unrelated to acne, not in English, or duplicates. In April 2020, 900 top posts were assessed and 439 were included. Screenshots were obtained and stored for future reference. “Like†and “follower†counts were compared with single factor ANOVA applied with the Microsoft Excel data analysis ToolPak.
