Published on November 20, 2024
There is a lot of news about the negative impact of TikTok, especially on kids. But is there a way to leverage beneficial health outcomes from the short-form videos on this popular social media platform? In an online experiment with hashtag #youth who are current e-cigarette users, we find that for messages about vaping cessation:
- Youth prefer a formal expert source (e.g., doctor) over an informal expert (e.g., another peer who has quit vaping) to deliver the message
- Formal expert’s message is more effective when it emphasizes the negative aspects (e.g., bad consequences) of vaping
- If it is an informal expert source delivering the message, they are more effective when they emphasize the positive aspects (e.g, the benefits of quitting) of quitting
Publication: Journal of Adolescent Health
Co-Authors: Jiaxi Wu (former BU doctoral student, now at U Pennsylvania), Jessica Fetterman (MED), Jennifer C. Ross (SPH)