Carmen C W Lim1,2, Janni Leung1,2, Jack Yiu Chak Chung1,2, Tianze Sun1,2, Coral Gartner3,4, Jason Connor1,5, Wayne Hall1,5,6, Vivian Chiu1,2, Calvert Tisdale2, Daniel Stjepanović1, Gary Chan1. 1. National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia. 2. School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia. 3. School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia. 4. Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia. 5. Discipline of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia. 6. National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There has been an increase in the potency of cannabis during the last two decades and adoption of a novel method of administration-vaping. YouTube, a social media platform, has become a popular source to access cannabis-related information. This study aimed to identify cannabis vaping YouTube videos from 2016 to 2020 and examine the themes and metrics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional sample of 200 YouTube videos. SETTING: YouTube, an on-line video sharing platform. MEASUREMENTS: Videos related to cannabis vaping were identified using the search terms: 'vaping cannabis', 'vaping weed', 'vaping marijuana' and 'vaping THC' [tetrahydrocannabinol]. Videos were independently coded by two researchers. The number of views, likes, dislikes and comments were also collected. Robust regression was used to analyse the relationship between identified video themes and video metrics. FINDINGS: Six themes were identified: 'advertisement', 'product review', 'celebratory', 'reflective', 'how-to' and 'warning'. The 'how-to' and 'celebratory' videos received the highest number of views and likes. The most popular video was viewed more than 4 000 000 times. Many videos portrayed risky behaviour (e.g. vaping a whole THC cartridge in a single setting). Fifty-two percent of these videos had no age access restrictions. The robust regression model also found that engagement metric was positively associated with 'reflective' videos and negatively associated with 'advertisement' videos. CONCLUSIONS: A large number of videos on cannabis vaping are available on-line without age-restriction. Videos that portrayed risky behaviour appear to be prevalent.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There has been an increase in the potency of cannabis during the last two decades and adoption of a novel method of administration-vaping. YouTube, a social media platform, has become a popular source to access cannabis-related information. This study aimed to identify cannabis vaping YouTube videos from 2016 to 2020 and examine the themes and metrics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional sample of 200 YouTube videos. SETTING: YouTube, an on-line video sharing platform. MEASUREMENTS: Videos related to cannabis vaping were identified using the search terms: 'vaping cannabis', 'vaping weed', 'vaping marijuana' and 'vaping THC' [tetrahydrocannabinol]. Videos were independently coded by two researchers. The number of views, likes, dislikes and comments were also collected. Robust regression was used to analyse the relationship between identified video themes and video metrics. FINDINGS: Six themes were identified: 'advertisement', 'product review', 'celebratory', 'reflective', 'how-to' and 'warning'. The 'how-to' and 'celebratory' videos received the highest number of views and likes. The most popular video was viewed more than 4 000 000 times. Many videos portrayed risky behaviour (e.g. vaping a whole THC cartridge in a single setting). Fifty-two percent of these videos had no age access restrictions. The robust regression model also found that engagement metric was positively associated with 'reflective' videos and negatively associated with 'advertisement' videos. CONCLUSIONS: A large number of videos on cannabis vaping are available on-line without age-restriction. Videos that portrayed risky behaviour appear to be prevalent.
Authors: Zachary B Massey; Robert T Fairman; Victoria Churchill; David L Ashley; Lucy Popova Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-11-09 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Brienna N Rutherford; Tianze Sun; Carmen C W Lim; Jack Chung; Brandon Cheng; Lily Davidson; Calvert Tisdale; Janni Leung; Daniel Stjepanović; Jason P Connor; Gary C K Chan Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-01-20 Impact factor: 3.390