Social media use and cybercivility guidelines in U.S. nursing schools: A review of websites

This research analyzes to what extent U.S. nursing schools use social media, their policies or guidelines on cybercivility in social media, online classrooms, and email correspondence, and whether these protocols are readily available to students. This website-based study employs a descriptive, cross-sectional, non-experimental search design. Data were collected in nursing schools offering master's programs (n = 197) and online graduate programs in master's degree (n = 110) listed in the 2017 edition of U.S. News and World Report. School ranking was positively correlated with the total number of social networking sites being used in the schools, but not with the presence of cybercivility guidelines. About a third of the nursing schools in the sample had policies/guidelines concerning social media, while fewer than 10% had policies/guidelines about online classroom conduct (n = 14) or email use (n = 16). Key features of these protocols were professionalism, expected behaviors, and consequences. Establishing and implementing policies and guidelines regarding cybercivility is a vital step to promote a culture of civility online. It is especially important to do so in nursing schools where standards should reflect the values of the profession.