A Snapshot of the Depiction of Electronic Cigarettes in YouTube Videos

Overview

Journal Am J Health Behav

Date 2015 Oct 10

PMID 26450550

Citations 19

Authors

Laura M Romito

Risa A Hurwich

George J Eckert

Affiliations

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Abstract

Objective: To assess the depiction of e-cigarettes in YouTube videos.

Methods: The sample (N = 63) was selected from the top 20 search results for "electronic cigarette," and "e-cig" with each term searched twice by the filters "Relevance" and "View Count." Data collected included title, length, number of views, "likes," "dislikes," comments, and inferred demographics of individuals appearing in the videos.

Results: Seventy-six percent of videos included at least one man, 62% included a Caucasian, and 50% included at least one young individual. Video content connotation was coded as positive (76%), neutral (18%), or negative (6%). Videos were categorized as advertisement (33%), instructional (17%), news clip (19%), product review (13%), entertainment (11%), public health (3%), and personal testimonial (3%).

Conclusion: Most e-cigarette YouTube videos are non-traditional or covert advertisements featuring young Caucasian men.

Citing Articles

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Approaches to Research Ethics in Health Research on YouTube: Systematic Review.

Tanner J, Takats C, Lathan H, Kwan A, Wormer R, Romero D J Med Internet Res. 2023; 25:e43060.

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A comprehensive content analysis of 104 Chinese electronic cigarette manufacturing enterprise official websites.

Deng H, Fang L, Zhang L, Yan X, Wang F, Hao X Tob Control. 2023; 33(6):705-712.

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Influence of User Profile Attributes on e-Cigarette-Related Searches on YouTube: Machine Learning Clustering and Classification.

Murthy D, Lee J, Dashtian H, Kong G JMIR Infodemiology. 2023; 3:e42218.

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User-generated content and influencer marketing involving e-cigarettes on social media: a scoping review and content analysis of YouTube and Instagram.

Smith M, Buckton C, Patterson C, Hilton S BMC Public Health. 2023; 23(1):530.

PMID: 36941553 PMC: 10029293. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15389-1.