JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmental contaminants that have received significant public attention. PFAS are a large group of human-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1950s. Human exposure to PFAS is a growing public health concern. Studies suggest that exposure to PFAS may increase risk for some cancers and have negative health impacts on endocrine, metabolic, and immune systems. Federal and state health partners are investigating exposure to and possible health effects associated with PFAS. Government agencies can observe social media discourse on PFAS to better understand public concerns and develop targeted communication and outreach efforts.

Objective:

The primary objective is to understand how social media is used to share, disseminate, and engage in public discussions of PFAS-related information in the United States.

Methods:

We investigated PFAS-related content across two social media platforms between 5/1/2017 and 4/30/2019 to identify how the social media is used in the U.S. to seek and disseminate PFAS-related information. Our key variable of interest was posts that mentioned “PFAS,” “PFOA,” “PFOS,” and their hashtag variations across social media platforms. Additional variables included post-type, time, PFAS-event, and geographic location. We examined term-use and post-type differences across platforms. We used descriptive statistics and regression analysis to assess the incidences of PFAS discussions and to identify time, event, and geographic patterns. We qualitatively analyzed social media content to determine the most prevalent themes discussed on social media platforms.

Results:

Our analysis revealed Twitter had a significantly greater volume of PFAS-related posts compared to Reddit (98,264 vs 3,126 posts, respectively). PFAS-related social media posts increased 670% over 2 years, indicating a marked increase in the social media users’ interest and awareness of PFAS. Active engagement varied across platforms, with Reddit posts demonstrating more in-depth discussions compared to passive likes and reposts among Twitter users. Spikes in PFAS discussions were evident and connected to discovery of contamination events, media coverage, and scientific publications. Thematic analysis revealed that the social media users see PFAS as a significant public health concern, harbors skepticism of some existing PFAS information sources, and seeks a trusted source of information about PFAS-related public health efforts.

Conclusions:

The analysis identified a prevalent theme—on the social media, PFAS are perceived as an immediate public health concern and demonstrates a growing sense of urgency to understand this emerging contaminant and its potential health impacts. Government agencies can continue using social media research to better understand the changing community sentiment on PFAS and disseminate targeted PFAS-related scientific information, then use social media as a forum for dispelling misinformation, communicating scientific findings, and providing resources for relevant public health services.