By Cheryl G. Murphy, OD
In recent years, a slew of optometry videos have appeared online. Some poke fun at nightmarish contact lens patients and their outlandish demands, while others take the lyrics to a popular song, change them to be optometric in nature and then shoot a stunning skit whose cinematic style and quality rivals that of the music videos on MTV. A few online videos even feature optometrists and their staff dancing to the Harlem shake. What is the impact of these videos? Are they helpful or hurtful? Does the old saying “any press is good press?” hold true when it comes to our profession?
Obviously, when a funny video is shot and posted by an optometrist or an optometric student, I think it is usually not put out there to do harm. In my opinion, those who created it just wanted to produce something fun and light-hearted and to have a good time. However, others might argue that these videos damage the community’s view of our profession. Some say that in a world where our profession is fighting to hold its ground with ophthalmologists and online vendors, we can’t afford to risk tarnishing our reputation by showing our silly side. And what about those videos that take things one step too far? Different viewers have different senses of humor and I could see how certain videos may be offensive to some.
I believe most of the videos I have seen online, while some are more zany than others, do not damage the reputation of optometrists, and I personally, am not offended by them. I think it is good to show the world our fun side and that we are human too. Sharing a bit of our personality and a sliver of our personal life with patients, even if it is just displaying pictures of our family, is what helps them to see us as more than just a white lab coat. That said, obviously there are lines in the sand that need to be drawn. I saw a couple of videos that pushed the envelope too far including one that was scripted by a disgruntled new graduate who had terrible things to say about the optometric profession and how he was tricked into picking it by a smooth-talking recruiter.
Everyone knows the Golden Rule of the internet by now–don’t post anything you wouldn’t want the entire world to see forever. Once you post something online, there is no erase button. As soon as you hit enter, it’s out there. Even if you later delete it, there is a chance it has already been seen, saved, stored or downloaded. So be wise about what you post. And don’t over-share.
That said, I think it’s OK to have fun, and the optometry skits by OD students in particular, are great. I also liked all of the Harlem shake videos. But remember, not all viewers have the same sense of humor as you and some may be more easily offended than others, so don’t do anything too out there or that you wouldn’t want your grandmother, kids, priest, patient or future employer to see. Have fun–but not too much fun!
What do you think of optometrists posting comedic videos online? Are they fun, or should they not be done? Have you ever posted something? What impact did it have on your business? Were you ever offended by any of the OD videos that are out there? Do you think any of the videos were damaging to the image of optometry? What positive impacts do you think the video you posted, or one that you saw, had on others? Is “a smile worth a thousand words?”
Cheryl G. Murphy, OD, practices at an independent optometric practice in Holbrook, NY. You can like her on Facebook or follow her on twitter @murphyod. To contact her: murphyc2020@gmail.com.
