Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Feb 27, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 26, 2025 - Apr 23, 2025
Date Accepted: Jun 11, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Perceptions of a Pop-up Aimed at Combatting the Spread of E-cigarette Misinformation on Social Media: A Cross-Sectional Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Social media is an important source of e-cigarette-related information for adolescents and young adults (AYAs). However, misinformation is being shared across platforms, which encourages e-cigarette use.
Objective:
To examine AYAs’ perceptions of a novel pop-up about e-cigarettes on social media.
Methods:
Between December 2023 and March 2024, 13-24-year-old participants (N=5,326) completed a cross-sectional survey asking them to endorse positive and/or negative/neutral perceptions about a mock pop-up providing a link to e-cigarette-related information on social media. Chi-square analyses assessed differences by age and e-cigarette use status.
Results:
More participants endorsed positive (20.8%) than negative/neutral perceptions (13.3%) in relation to the pop-up (p<0.001). Those more likely to endorse at least two positive perceptions included 13-18-year-olds (vs 19-24) only while searching for “vaping” and not in their feed, and those who had never used e-cigarettes (vs ever used), and those who used e-cigarettes >30 days ago (vs used in the past 30 days). There were no significant differences across negative/neutral perceptions. Across groups, those who had never used e-cigarettes were less likely to trust the pop-up (24.3-24.4%) compared to those who had used (19.2-19.4%). Participants ages 13-18 years were more likely to say they usually ignore such notifications in their feed (28.9%) compared to those who were 19-24 years (25.0%).
Conclusions:
Positive perception of a social media pop-up indicates its potential to prevent e-cigarette-related misinformation. Further development requires strategies to better engage and inform AYAs, specifically younger individuals and current users. Clinical Trial: Not applicable
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