E-cigarettes and social media: prevalence of fact or “fake”?

Abstract

As a useful product for overcoming the addiction to smoking present in society, the electronic cigarette (EC) was presented as a less harmful alternative. Thus, it is assumed that social networks are a means of influence for the population, including YouTube as a means of propagandizing the use of ECs. To this end, 161 videos from the YouTube platform that refer to ECs were analyzed, of which 37 were in favor of their use, 28 neutral and 96 against; of the total views, 45% of the videos were in favor of using CE, 16% against, and 39% neutral; as for graduation, of the videos in favor of the use of ECs, only 2.7% have a degree in higher education, while of those who were neutral 39.28% have it, and of those against the use, 70.83% had higher education; As for the propagation rate, 44.18% were in favor of the use, 16.48% against and 39.34% with a neutral opinion. Thus, it is concluded that regardless of the veracity of the information transmitted, it is propagated by social networks, especially those with questionable veracity, which have a high rate of propagation; a fact that ratifies the public's tendency to consume content that confirms their ideas and supports their positions, which includes the theme of ECs.