A multicenter web-based survey of 1,515 medical students from eight Japanese medical schools (2025) assessed social media platform preferences, daily usage time, and perceived usefulness of social media for career decision-making, stratified by academic year.
YouTube (71.6%), Instagram (65.1%), and X/Twitter (43.7%) were the top platforms; Facebook was used by only 1.9%. Half of students (50.4%, n=763) found social media useful for career decisions, with X used most for this purpose. Early-year students were more likely to use YouTube and to view social media as career-relevant (P=0.005), while X use was more common in advanced-year students (P<0.001).
Single-country, convenience sample from eight Japanese schools limits generalizability. Web-based self-report introduces response bias. No data on how social media use actually influences final specialty or career choices—only perceived usefulness was measured.
Surgical educators and professional organizations in Japan should prioritize YouTube and Instagram to reach early-year students, and X/Twitter to engage advanced-year students, especially given the ongoing surgeon shortage. Tailoring platform strategy by academic year may improve recruitment messaging.
