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Perceptions and Sentiments About Electronic Cigarettes on Social Media Platforms: Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been widely promoted on the internet, and subsequently, social media has been used as an important informative platform by e-cigarette users. Beliefs and knowledge expressed on social media platforms have largely influenced e-cigarette uptake, th...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kwon, Misol, Park, Eunhee
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: JMIR Publications 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6996744/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31939747
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/13673
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author Kwon, Misol
Park, Eunhee
author_facet Kwon, Misol
Park, Eunhee
author_sort Kwon, Misol
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been widely promoted on the internet, and subsequently, social media has been used as an important informative platform by e-cigarette users. Beliefs and knowledge expressed on social media platforms have largely influenced e-cigarette uptake, the decision to switch from conventional smoking to e-cigarette smoking, and positive and negative connotations associated with e-cigarettes. Despite this, there is a gap in our knowledge of people’s perceptions and sentiments on e-cigarettes as depicted on social media platforms. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (1) provide an overview of studies examining the perceptions and sentiments associated with e-cigarettes on social media platforms and online discussion forums, (2) explore people’s perceptions of e-cigarette therein, and (3) examine the methodological limitations and gaps of the included studies. METHODS: Searches in major electronic databases, including PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Communication and Mass Media Complete, were conducted using the following search terms: “electronic cigarette,” “electronic vaporizer,” “electronic nicotine,” and “electronic nicotine delivery systems” combined with “internet,” “social media,” and “internet use.” The studies were selected if they examined participants’ perceptions and sentiments of e-cigarettes on online forums or social media platforms during the 2007-2017 period. RESULTS: A total of 21 articles were included. A total of 20 different social media platforms and online discussion forums were identified. A real-time snapshot and characteristics of sentiments, personal experience, and perceptions toward e-cigarettes on social media platforms and online forums were identified. Common topics regarding e-cigarettes included positive and negative health effects, testimony by current users, potential risks, benefits, regulations associated with e-cigarettes, and attitude toward them as smoking cessation aids. CONCLUSIONS: Although perceptions among social media users were mixed, there were more positive sentiments expressed than negative ones. This study particularly adds to our understanding of current trends in the popularity of and attitude toward e-cigarettes among social media users. In addition, this study identified conflicting perceptions about e-cigarettes among social media users. This suggests that accurate and up-to-date information on the benefits and risks of e-cigarettes needs to be disseminated to current and potential e-cigarette users via social media platforms, which can serve as important educational channels. Future research can explore the efficacy of social media–based interventions that deliver appropriate information (eg, general facts, benefits, and risks) about e-cigarettes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42019121611; https://tinyurl.com/yfr27uxs
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spelling pubmed-69967442020-02-20 Perceptions and Sentiments About Electronic Cigarettes on Social Media Platforms: Systematic Review Kwon, Misol Park, Eunhee JMIR Public Health Surveill Review BACKGROUND: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been widely promoted on the internet, and subsequently, social media has been used as an important informative platform by e-cigarette users. Beliefs and knowledge expressed on social media platforms have largely influenced e-cigarette uptake, the decision to switch from conventional smoking to e-cigarette smoking, and positive and negative connotations associated with e-cigarettes. Despite this, there is a gap in our knowledge of people’s perceptions and sentiments on e-cigarettes as depicted on social media platforms. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (1) provide an overview of studies examining the perceptions and sentiments associated with e-cigarettes on social media platforms and online discussion forums, (2) explore people’s perceptions of e-cigarette therein, and (3) examine the methodological limitations and gaps of the included studies. METHODS: Searches in major electronic databases, including PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Communication and Mass Media Complete, were conducted using the following search terms: “electronic cigarette,” “electronic vaporizer,” “electronic nicotine,” and “electronic nicotine delivery systems” combined with “internet,” “social media,” and “internet use.” The studies were selected if they examined participants’ perceptions and sentiments of e-cigarettes on online forums or social media platforms during the 2007-2017 period. RESULTS: A total of 21 articles were included. A total of 20 different social media platforms and online discussion forums were identified. A real-time snapshot and characteristics of sentiments, personal experience, and perceptions toward e-cigarettes on social media platforms and online forums were identified. Common topics regarding e-cigarettes included positive and negative health effects, testimony by current users, potential risks, benefits, regulations associated with e-cigarettes, and attitude toward them as smoking cessation aids. CONCLUSIONS: Although perceptions among social media users were mixed, there were more positive sentiments expressed than negative ones. This study particularly adds to our understanding of current trends in the popularity of and attitude toward e-cigarettes among social media users. In addition, this study identified conflicting perceptions about e-cigarettes among social media users. This suggests that accurate and up-to-date information on the benefits and risks of e-cigarettes needs to be disseminated to current and potential e-cigarette users via social media platforms, which can serve as important educational channels. Future research can explore the efficacy of social media–based interventions that deliver appropriate information (eg, general facts, benefits, and risks) about e-cigarettes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42019121611; https://tinyurl.com/yfr27uxs JMIR Publications 2020-01-15 /pmc/articles/PMC6996744/ /pubmed/31939747 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/13673 Text en ©Misol Kwon, Eunhee Park. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 15.01.2020. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://publichealth.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
spellingShingle Review
Kwon, Misol
Park, Eunhee
Perceptions and Sentiments About Electronic Cigarettes on Social Media Platforms: Systematic Review
title Perceptions and Sentiments About Electronic Cigarettes on Social Media Platforms: Systematic Review
title_full Perceptions and Sentiments About Electronic Cigarettes on Social Media Platforms: Systematic Review
title_fullStr Perceptions and Sentiments About Electronic Cigarettes on Social Media Platforms: Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed Perceptions and Sentiments About Electronic Cigarettes on Social Media Platforms: Systematic Review
title_short Perceptions and Sentiments About Electronic Cigarettes on Social Media Platforms: Systematic Review
title_sort perceptions and sentiments about electronic cigarettes on social media platforms: systematic review
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6996744/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31939747
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/13673
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