Abstract
This study aimed to classify and delineate types of user-generated content about the disposable e-cigarette Puff Bar shared on the popular video-based social media platform TikTok. We qualitatively analyzed 148 popular TikTok videos collected in July 2020. During an iterative process of data reduction and thematic analysis, we categorized videos by overarching genres and identified emergent themes. Young adults were engaged at all stages of the research process. Together, videos were viewed over 137 million times on TikTok. Seven genres of Puff Bar content emerged: skits and stories, shared vaper experiences, videos to show off, product reviews, product unboxing, promotion of Puff Bar, and crafts. Videos depicted Puff Bar users’ apathy about addiction and a lack of concern of the health effects of e-cigarette use. Additionally, Puff Bar promotion content from underground retailers was extensive and some targeted underage persons. Qualitative analysis of social media content can richly describe emerging online culture and illuminate the motivations of adolescent and young adult e-cigarette use. Social media can facilitate new product adoption; comprehensive e-cigarette regulation and enforcement can counteract these effects by closing loopholes through which new products emerge.
Highlights
IntroductionDirect advertising from e-cigarette companies, posts from social influencers (i.e., social media users that have credibility and influence in a specific market or brand [2]), and content from peers shape tobacco-related culture and norms and affect personal intentions and use of tobacco products [3,4,5]
Social media has become a key medium for pro-e-cigarette messaging [1]
Our study offers one example of how to approach a qualitative analysis of social media content, offering several strengths that can be integrated into future work [24]
Summary
Direct advertising from e-cigarette companies, posts from social influencers (i.e., social media users that have credibility and influence in a specific market or brand [2]), and content from peers shape tobacco-related culture and norms and affect personal intentions and use of tobacco products [3,4,5]. This content especially impacts adolescents and young adults in the United States who are both a target market for the e-cigarette industry and frequently use social media; almost all U.S teenagers and young adults (93%) use at least one social media platform [6], and over half of youth aged 13–17 have reported exposure to some form of tobacco-related content on social media [7]. E-cigarette use by both adolescents and young adults has been linked to an increased risk of acute respiratory issues [9], poor mental health [10], impacted neurological development, and subsequent use of other substances [11,12,13]
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