Exploratory Analysis of Electronic Cigarette–Related Videos on YouTube: Observational Study

Background Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has become more popular than cigarette smoking, especially among youth. Social media platforms, including YouTube, are a popular means of sharing information about e-cigarette use (vaping). Objective This study aimed to characterize the content and user engagement of e-cigarette–related YouTube videos. Methods The top 400 YouTube search videos related to e-cigarettes were collected in January 2020. Among them, 340 valid videos were classified into provaping, vaping-warning, and neutral categories by hand coding. Additionally, the content of e-cigarette videos and their user engagement (including average views and likes) were analyzed and compared. Results While provaping videos were dominant among e-cigarette–related YouTube videos from 2007 to 2017, vaping-warning videos started to emerge in 2013 and became dominant between 2018 and 2019. Compared to vaping-warning videos, provaping videos had higher average daily views (1077 vs 822) but lower average daily likes (12 vs 15). Among 161 provaping videos, videos on user demonstration (n=100, 62.11%) were dominant, and videos on comparison with smoking had the highest user engagement (2522 average daily views and 28 average daily likes). Conversely, among 141 vaping-warning videos, videos on potential health risks were the most popular topic (n=57, 40.42%) with the highest user engagement (1609 average daily views and 33 average daily likes). Conclusions YouTube was dominated by provaping videos, with the majority of videos on user demonstrations before 2018. The vaping-warning videos became dominant between 2018 and 2019, with videos on potential health risks being the most popular topic. This study provides updated surveillance on e-cigarette–related YouTube videos and some important guidance on associated social media regulations.

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Exploratory Analysis of Electronic Cigarette–Related Videos on YouTube: Observational Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.27302 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zidian Xie ◽

Xueting Wang ◽

Yu Gu ◽

Dongmei Li

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Cigarette Smoking ◽

Observational Study ◽

Health Risks ◽

Electronic Cigarette ◽

User Engagement ◽

Cigarette Use ◽

Potential Health ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Youtube Videos

BACKGROUND Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has become more popular than cigarette smoking, especially among youth. Social media platforms, including YouTube, are a popular means of sharing information about e-cigarette use (vaping). OBJECTIVE This study aimed to characterize the content and user engagement of e-cigarette–related YouTube videos. METHODS The top 400 YouTube search videos related to e-cigarettes were collected in January 2020. Among them, 340 valid videos were classified into provaping, vaping-warning, and neutral categories by hand coding. Additionally, the content of e-cigarette videos and their user engagement (including average views and likes) were analyzed and compared. RESULTS While provaping videos were dominant among e-cigarette–related YouTube videos from 2007 to 2017, vaping-warning videos started to emerge in 2013 and became dominant between 2018 and 2019. Compared to vaping-warning videos, provaping videos had higher average daily views (1077 vs 822) but lower average daily likes (12 vs 15). Among 161 provaping videos, videos on user demonstration (n=100, 62.11%) were dominant, and videos on comparison with smoking had the highest user engagement (2522 average daily views and 28 average daily likes). Conversely, among 141 vaping-warning videos, videos on potential health risks were the most popular topic (n=57, 40.42%) with the highest user engagement (1609 average daily views and 33 average daily likes). CONCLUSIONS YouTube was dominated by provaping videos, with the majority of videos on user demonstrations before 2018. The vaping-warning videos became dominant between 2018 and 2019, with videos on potential health risks being the most popular topic. This study provides updated surveillance on e-cigarette–related YouTube videos and some important guidance on associated social media regulations.

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Factors associated with electronic cigarette use among current cigarette-smoking adolescents in the Republic of Korea

Addictive Behaviors ◽

10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.01.002 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 69 ◽

pp. 22-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Sunhee Park ◽

Haein Lee ◽

Soyoon Min

Keyword(s):

Cigarette Smoking ◽

Electronic Cigarette ◽

Republic Of Korea ◽

Cigarette Use ◽

Current Cigarette Smoking ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Current Cigarette ◽

The Republic

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Characteristics of Gun Advertisements on Social Media: Systematic Search and Content Analysis of Twitter and YouTube Posts (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.15736 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa Jordan ◽

James Kalin ◽

Colleen Dabrowski

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Systematic Search ◽

Health Concern ◽

Corporate Ownership ◽

Public Health Concern ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Streaming Services ◽

Youtube Videos ◽

Different Characteristics

BACKGROUND Although gun violence has been identified as a major public health concern, the scope and significance of internet gun advertising is not known. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to quantify the characteristics of gun advertising on social media and to compare the reach of posts by manufacturers with those of influencers. METHODS Using a systematic search, we created a database of recent and popular Twitter and YouTube posts made public by major firearm manufacturers and influencers. From our sample of social media posts, we reviewed the content of the posts on the basis of 19 different characteristics, such as type of gun, presence of women, and military or police references. Our content analysis summarized statistical differences in the information conveyed in posts to compare advertising approaches across social media platforms. RESULTS Sample posts revealed that firearm manufacturers use social media to attract audiences to websites that sell firearms: 14.1% (131/928; ±2.9) of Twitter posts, 53.6% (228/425; ±6.2) of YouTube videos, and 89.5% (214/239; ±5.1) of YouTube influencer videos link to websites that facilitate sales. Advertisements included women in efforts to market handguns and pistols for the purpose of protection: videos with women included protection themes 2.5 times more often than videos without women. Top manufacturers of domestic firearms received 98 million channel views, compared with 6.1 billion channel views received by the top 12 YouTube influencers. CONCLUSIONS Firearm companies use social media as an advertising platform to connect viewers to websites that sell guns. Gun manufacturers appropriate YouTube servers, video streaming services, and the work of YouTube influencers to reach large audiences to promote the widespread sale of consumer firearms. YouTube and Twitter subsidize gun advertising by offering server and streaming services at no cost to gun manufacturers, to the commercial benefit of Google and Twitter’s corporate ownership.

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Vaping and subsequent comorbidities potentially associated with increased mortality and more severe illness in COVID-19: a narrative review

10.22514/sv.2021.113 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Cigarette Smoking ◽

Health Risks ◽

Older Patients ◽

Significant Risk ◽

Self Report ◽

Severe Illness ◽

Protective Effects ◽

Cigarette Use

Introduction: COVID-19 (or COVID) is a highly virulent viral disease which more frequently presents severe infection in specific populations, such as the elderly, patients with hypertension, patients with respiratory disease, and patients who smoke. The effects vaping (i.e., an electronic cigarette or JUUL device) has on COVID progression remains unclear, because there is an information paucity correlating e-cigarette use and COVID. This review sought to identify links between vape use and COVID severity via literature review. Additionally, because there is more widespread information about cigarette smoking than about vaping, this review sought to illustrate commonalities between smoking and vaping. If smoking and vaping are deemed near-identical practices, then it is possible the effects of smoking on human health and on COVID disease could be comparable in vaping. Methods: Several searches were performed on PubMed with MeSH headings and JSTOR between 17 December 2020 and 22 December 2020. Search results were excluded if they were not trials or controlled clinical trials, if the articles were not about COVID, if the articles were about smoking behaviors or habits, or if the articles were not related to vaping or smoking. Key findings were summarized and tabled based on relevance, substantiability, and applicability to COVID. Results: Multiple sources viewed smoking and vaping as equal risk factors for COVID disease, whereas other sources viewed the two as unique risk factors. Because of this controversy, it is challenging to view the two practices as similar enough to pose equivalent risks for COVID. Both practices pose significant health risks to its users, but these health risks are unique to each practice. Discussion: There are several limitations which exacerbate ambiguity—(1) it is unclear how harmful smoking is for COVID patients, because several publications found smoking may have protective effects; (2) few older patients vape, but yet most severe COVID cases occur in older populations; (3) older patients and impoverished patients show a statistically significant risk for severe COVID disease independent of other factors; (4) vaping is a relatively new practice, and there are few patients who self-report long-term e-cigarette use or long-term adverse effects as a result thereof. Conclusion: Although vaping may present serious health risks, clinically, it is uncertain how significantly vaping affects COVID disease, especially when compared against cigarette smoking. More research is needed on both the effects of vaping on COVID and the likeness of vaping versus smoking.

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The influence of YouTube: selling luxury cosmetics in the digital age

10.32920/ryerson.14661060 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrea Chidley

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Research Study ◽

Brand Awareness ◽

Instructional Videos ◽

Brand Recognition ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Youtube Videos ◽

Luxury Cosmetics ◽

Use Of Social Media

This MRP analyzes the use of social media in selling high-end cosmetics. As social media continues to evolve, luxury cosmetics companies like Nudestix are using social media platforms like YouTube to create brand awareness. This paper uses a textual and visual content analysis of six YouTube videos to analyze how how-to and instructional videos may be used to market and promote lesser known, indie cosmetics brands. Research on marketing, in addition to other research articles, is used to explain the importance of brand stores, seed and word of mouth marketing campaigns. This research study uses qualitative data collected from the YouTube video sample to provide insights for indie cosmetics brands looking to grow their indie cosmetics brand using beauty influencers and how vlogs can create brand recognition.

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A Scoping Review of Social Media Sites as a Tool for Clinical Trial Recruitment and Retention (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.33690 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jarett Anderson ◽

Austin Hamp ◽

Michelle Militello ◽

Ryan Geist ◽

Jaclyn Anderson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trial ◽

Social Media ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

The United States ◽

User Engagement ◽

Trial Recruitment ◽

Recruitment And Retention ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Clinical Trial Recruitment ◽

Media Applications

BACKGROUND Clinical trials are an essential process in discovering new biomedical or behavioral outcomes in disease processes. There are several steps involved in creating a clinical trial. One step, patient recruitment, is often touted as the largest contributor to trial delays, which has financial, scientific, and ethical ramifications. Approximately 1.2 billion dollars in the United States is spent each year on this process and as many as 86% of clinical trials do not meet recruitment targets within their perspective timeframes, and 19% of trials had to be terminated early due to insufficient recruitment and/or patient retention1. Social media is a viable, inexpensive tool that can be utilized to improve both recruitment and retention rates2. To date, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and others have been widely utilized in recruitment for clinical trials, communication among stakeholders, and educational tools. Social media also has the advantage of reaching populations that otherwise would be more difficult to reach3. A list of these platforms and each of their distinct advantages for clinical trial recruitment can be found in Table 1. This review aims to highlight the unique characteristics of several social media platforms and their advantageous properties in increasing recruitment and retention during clinical trials. OBJECTIVE This narrative review analyzes the current use of several social media sites in clinical trial recruitment and retention. It also offers insight concerning potential uses of these sites that are not currently utilized. METHODS A literature search was performed using PubMed, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate to access and review relevant articles published in peer-reviewed journals concerning social media and its use in clinical trials. Two independent researchers with education and experience in dermatology screened publications to select studies featuring quantitative results concerning social media and clinical trial recruitment. RESULTS 13 social media applications were studied and reviewed. 7 of these social media sites or applications have currently been studied, and their use in complementing traditional recruiting methods such as advertisements in newspapers, health fairs, and direct mailing, has been analyzed and reported. 6 additional social media applications have further been studied, and their potential use within clinical trial research has been additionally analyzed. CONCLUSIONS A large number and variety of social media platforms exist to aid in the recruitment and retention process for clinical trials, many of which can utilize niche features and reach a targeted demographic. Although recruitment remains a barrier for researchers involved in clinical trials, the potential to recruit through social media may be underutilized. Many avenues that exist to improve recruitment have not been leveraged. For example, partnering to create collaborative videos with social media influencers on platforms such as Instagram and Youtube may help to broaden the audience and increase clinical trial enrollments. Creating biomedical educational profiles or channels that discuss details of clinical trials with descriptions of these trials could also be employed to increase the scope of the audience. Reddit, Smart Patients, and Patients Like Me can target difficult-to-reach patient populations due to their use of subgroups, allowing researchers to reach their target audience. Additionally, many of these platforms provide user engagement features that allow users to respond directly to videos or posts and could be used to encourage enrollment by allowing users to react directly to clinical trial advertisements.

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Young Adult Identification and Perception of Hashtag-Based Vaping Claims on Instagram

Health Education & Behavior ◽

10.1177/1090198120928992 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 (4) ◽

pp. 611-618

Author(s):

Linnea I. Laestadius ◽

Kendall Penndorf ◽

Melissa Seidl ◽

Pallav Pokhrel ◽

Ryan Patrick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Young Adults ◽

Young Adult ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Drug Administration ◽

Food And Drug Administration ◽

Electronic Cigarette ◽

Health Related ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Practical Constraints

Social media platforms are home to large volumes of ambiguous hashtag-based claims about the health, modified-risk, and cessation benefits of electronic cigarette products (e.g., #Vapingsavedmylife). The objective of this study was to qualitatively explore how young adults interpret these hashtags on the popular platform Instagram. Specifically, we sought to identify if they view these hashtags as making health-related claims, and if they find these claims to be credible and valid. We conducted 12 focus groups in 2018 with non–tobacco users, smokers, dual users, and vapers between the ages of 18 and 24 ( n = 69). Using real Instagram posts to guide discussion, participants reflected on the meaning of potentially claims-making hashtags. Participants interpreted the majority of the hashtags as making health-related claims. However, many participants felt that the claims were too exaggerated to be entirely valid. Some participants, including dual users and vapers, argued that smoking and vaping were largely equivalent. Smokers were particularly skeptical of claims. Findings suggest that the U. S. Food and Drug Administration should consider hashtag-based claims in their regulatory efforts. However, further research is needed on how to pragmatically address claims taking the form of hashtags given legal and practical constraints.

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