scholarly journals Teens, Tweets, and Tanning Beds: Rethinking the Use of Social Media for Skin Cancer Prevention

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. S86-S94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley E. Falzone ◽  
Claire D. Brindis ◽  
Mary-Margaret Chren ◽  
Alexandra Junn ◽  
Sherry Pagoto ◽  
...  
10.2196/14137 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e14137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Nguyen ◽  
Lauren Gilbert ◽  
Lianne Priede ◽  
Carolyn Heckman

Background Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, disproportionately affecting young women. Since many young adults use Twitter, it may be an effective channel to communicate skin cancer prevention information. Objective The study aimed to assess the reach of the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention (NCSCP)’s 2018 Don’t Fry Day Twitter campaign, categorize the types of individuals or tweeters who engaged in the campaign, and identify themes of the tweets. Methods Descriptive statistics were used, and a content analysis of Twitter activity during the 2018 Don’t Fry Day campaign was conducted. The NCSCP tweeted about Don’t Fry Day and skin cancer prevention for 14 days in May 2018. Twitter contributors were categorized into groups. The number of impressions (potential views) and retweets were recorded. Content analysis was used to describe the text of the tweets. Results A total of 1881 Twitter accounts, largely health professionals, used the Don’t Fry Day hashtag, generating over 45 million impressions. These accounts were grouped into nine categories (eg, news or media and public figures). The qualitative content analysis revealed informative, minimally informative, and self-interest campaign promotion themes. Informative tweets involved individuals and organizations who would mention and give further context and information about the #DontFryDay campaign. Subthemes of the informative theme were sun safety, contextual, and epidemiologic information. Minimally informative tweets used the hashtag (#DontFryDay) and other types of hashtags but did not give any further context or original material in the tweets. Self-interest campaign promotion involved businesses, firms, and medical practices that would utilize and promote the campaign to boost their own ventures. Conclusions These analyses demonstrate the large potential reach of social media public health campaigns. However, limitations of such campaigns were also identified, for example, the relatively homogeneous groups actively engaged in the campaign. This study contributes to the understanding of the types of accounts and messages engaged in social media campaigns utilizing a hashtag, providing insight into the messages and participants that are effective and those that are not to achieve campaign goals. Further research on the potential impact of social media on health behaviors and outcomes is necessary to ensure wide-reaching implications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-683
Author(s):  
Jessica Reimann ◽  
Jennifer E. McWhirter ◽  
Andrew Papadopoulos ◽  
Kim Bergeron ◽  
Susan Flynn ◽  
...  

Dermatology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 236 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Vasconcelos Silva ◽  
Dilki Jayasinghe ◽  
Monika Janda

Background: Skin cancer places a substantial burden on the health system in Australia. The modernisation of skin cancer prevention interventions by using social media may enhance their contemporary reach and relevance, especially among the youth. This study aimed to analyse Twitter posts in Australia to establish a baseline of skin cancer and sun-related communication trends. Methods: Tweets posted over the summer of 2018/2019 relating to relevant keywords and hashtags such as “slipslopslap” and “sunscreen” were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The number of tweets, related communication patterns, and possible factors for sudden changes in tweet volume were studied. Results: Results showed that Australians are using Twitter to communicate about their sun-related and skin cancer experiences and to share advice and information on this matter. Overall, Australians use Twitter more frequently to talk about sunscreen (number of tweets between December 2018 and February 2019 = 5,842) and/or skin cancer (n = 3,936), but not so often to communicate about other sun-protective behaviours (n = 1,972) or skin cancer prevention campaigns (n = 108). The number of tweets is greatly affected by the increase in temperature. Celebrities, non-health-related organisations with a high number of followers, and individuals sharing their own skin cancer experiences achieve a substantial number of likes and retweets and thus influence on Twitter regarding skin cancer-related communication. Conclusions: The results allow deeper understanding of important determinants for effective social media use for health promotion and public health messaging in the future. Linking tweets with temperature, sharing by celebrities or non-health-related organisations and individuals with a high following can all contribute to greater spread of skin cancer and sun-related messages.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Nguyen ◽  
Lauren Gilbert ◽  
Lianne Priede ◽  
Carolyn Heckman

BACKGROUND Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, disproportionately affecting young women. Since many young adults use Twitter, it may be an effective channel to communicate skin cancer prevention information. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to assess the reach of the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention (NCSCP)’s 2018 <italic>Don’t Fry Day</italic> Twitter campaign, categorize the types of individuals or tweeters who engaged in the campaign, and identify themes of the tweets. METHODS Descriptive statistics were used, and a content analysis of Twitter activity during the 2018 <italic>Don’t Fry Day</italic> campaign was conducted. The NCSCP tweeted about <italic>Don’t Fry Day</italic> and skin cancer prevention for 14 days in May 2018. Twitter contributors were categorized into groups. The number of impressions (potential views) and retweets were recorded. Content analysis was used to describe the text of the tweets. RESULTS A total of 1881 Twitter accounts, largely health professionals, used the <italic>Don’t Fry Day</italic> hashtag, generating over 45 million impressions. These accounts were grouped into nine categories (eg, news or media and public figures). The qualitative content analysis revealed informative, minimally informative, and self-interest campaign promotion themes. Informative tweets involved individuals and organizations who would mention and give further context and information about the #DontFryDay campaign. Subthemes of the informative theme were sun safety, contextual, and epidemiologic information. Minimally informative tweets used the hashtag (#DontFryDay) and other types of hashtags but did not give any further context or original material in the tweets. Self-interest campaign promotion involved businesses, firms, and medical practices that would utilize and promote the campaign to boost their own ventures. CONCLUSIONS These analyses demonstrate the large potential reach of social media public health campaigns. However, limitations of such campaigns were also identified, for example, the relatively homogeneous groups actively engaged in the campaign. This study contributes to the understanding of the types of accounts and messages engaged in social media campaigns utilizing a hashtag, providing insight into the messages and participants that are effective and those that are not to achieve campaign goals. Further research on the potential impact of social media on health behaviors and outcomes is necessary to ensure wide-reaching implications.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Fitts Willoughby ◽  
Jessica Gall Myrick ◽  
Stephanie Gibbons ◽  
Clark Kogan

BACKGROUND Research has pointed to a connection between social media use, emotions, and tanning behaviors. However, less is known about the role specific emotions may play in influencing social media use and how emotions and social media use may each be associated with outdoor tanning. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to examine the connection between emotions, social media use, and outdoor tanning behaviors among young women, a group particularly important for skin cancer prevention efforts. METHODS We used ecological momentary assessment to collect data from 197 women aged 18 to 25 years 3 times a day for 7 days in July 2018. We collected data from women in 2 states. RESULTS We found that boredom was associated with increased time spent on social media and that increased time spent on social media was associated with increased time spent outdoors without sun protection. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight that social media may be a particularly important channel for skin cancer prevention efforts targeting young women, as more social media use was associated with increased time spent outdoors with skin exposed. Researchers should consider the role of emotions in motivating social media use and subsequent tanning behaviors. Additionally, as boredom was associated with social media use, intervention developers would benefit from developing digital and social media interventions that entertain as well as educate.


Author(s):  
Henriette De La Garza ◽  
Mayra B. C. Maymone ◽  
Neelam A. Vashi

Despite the increasing prevalence of social media usage in health care contexts, its impact on skin cancer prevention and awareness has not been largely investigated. We conducted a review of literature on this topic with the objective of summarizing and analyzing the role of social media in skin cancer and sun damage awareness and to identify the uses, benefits, and limitations of different social media platforms on skin cancer prevention. In today’s technological society, it is critical to understand and study the best form of communication. Specific platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok vary in originators of material, target demographics, messaging strategies, and reliability of information with regards to skin cancer, sun, and indoor tanning damage. Our results demonstrate that social media interventions have shown promise in skin cancer prevention and continue to escalate by the day. Dermatologists should keep pace with the latest dermatological content on social media and examine its evolution to target the right audience with the proper messages. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness and true impact of social media on meaningful and lasting behavior change for skin cancer prevention.


10.2196/18371 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e18371
Author(s):  
Jessica Fitts Willoughby ◽  
Jessica Gall Myrick ◽  
Stephanie Gibbons ◽  
Clark Kogan

Background Research has pointed to a connection between social media use, emotions, and tanning behaviors. However, less is known about the role specific emotions may play in influencing social media use and how emotions and social media use may each be associated with outdoor tanning. Objective This paper aims to examine the connection between emotions, social media use, and outdoor tanning behaviors among young women, a group particularly important for skin cancer prevention efforts. Methods We used ecological momentary assessment to collect data from 197 women aged 18 to 25 years 3 times a day for 7 days in July 2018. We collected data from women in 2 states. Results We found that boredom was associated with increased time spent on social media and that increased time spent on social media was associated with increased time spent outdoors without sun protection. Conclusions Our results highlight that social media may be a particularly important channel for skin cancer prevention efforts targeting young women, as more social media use was associated with increased time spent outdoors with skin exposed. Researchers should consider the role of emotions in motivating social media use and subsequent tanning behaviors. Additionally, as boredom was associated with social media use, intervention developers would benefit from developing digital and social media interventions that entertain as well as educate.


2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Potente ◽  
Jackie McIver ◽  
Caroline Anderson ◽  
Kay Coppa

Despite 3 decades of traditional media campaigns to raise awareness about skin cancer, Australian youth continue to exhibit poor sun protection behaviors. This article reports on a creative promotional strategy that used entertainment-education and social media marketing to stimulate dialogue and address barriers to sun protection. The campaign centered on an ironic music video launched across multiple media channels, with a focus on social media sites. Process evaluation included campaign reach; and online surveys and thematic analysis of online conversations appraised sun protection attitudes and behaviors. The video received 250,000 views in 4 months, and online surveys identified positive differences between those exposed and not exposed to the video in attitudes toward skin cancer risk, perceived ability to avoid skin cancer by regularly using sun protection, and several self-reported sun protection behaviors, but no differences in peer perceptions of tanning. Of those who watched the video, 25% forwarded the video to friends, 44% reported that the video changed the way they felt about sun protection, and 19% of spontaneous online comments reported an intention to change behavior. The campaign results suggest that entertaining, peer-to-peer messages can be used to engage youth with an important health message for skin cancer prevention.


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