Puff or pass: do social media and social interactions influence smoking behaviour of university students? A cross-sectional mixed methods study from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Short-Form Video Exposure and Its Two-Sided Effect on the Physical Activity of Older Community Women in China: Secondary Data Analysis

Background

There is a tendency for older adults to become more physically inactive, especially older women. Physical inactivity has been exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns and information-based preventive measures for COVID-19 increased the number of short-form video app users and short-form video exposure, including content exposure and the duration of exposure, which has demonstrated important effects on youths' health and health-related behaviors. Despite more older adults viewing short-form videos, less is known about the status of their short-form video exposure or the impacts of the exposure on their physical activity.

Objective

This study aims to describe physical activity-related content exposure among older adults and to quantify its impacts along with the duration of short-form video exposure on step counts, low-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

Methods

We analyzed a subsample (N=476) of older women who used smartphones and installed short-form video apps, using the baseline data collected from an ongoing cohort study named the Physical Activity and Health in Older Women Study (PAHIOWS) launched from March to June 2021 in Yantai, Shandong Province, China. The information on short-form video exposure was collected by unstructured questions; physical activity-related content exposure was finalized by professionals using the Q-methodology, and the duration of exposure was transformed into hours per day. Step counts, LPA, and MVPA were assessed with ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers. Multiple subjective and objective covariates were assessed. Linear regression models were used to test the effects of short-form video exposure on step counts, LPA, and MVPA. MVPA was dichotomized into less than 150 minutes per week and 150 minutes or more per week, and the binary logistic regression model was run to test the effects of short-form video exposure on the achievement of spending 150 minutes or more on MVPA.

Results

Of 476 older women (mean age 64.63, SD 2.90 years), 23.7% (113/476) were exposed to physical activity-related short-form videos, and their daily exposure to short-form videos was 1.5 hours. Physical activity-related content exposure increased the minutes spent on MVPA by older women (B=4.14, 95% CI 0.13-8.15); the longer duration of short-form video exposure was associated with a reduced step count (B=-322.58, 95% CI -500.24 to -144.92) and minutes engaged in LPA (B=-6.95, 95% CI -12.19 to -1.71) and MVPA (B=-1.56, 95% CI -2.82 to -0.29). Neither content exposure nor the duration of exposure significantly increased or decreased the odds of older women engaging in MVPA for 150 minutes or more per week.

Conclusions

Short-form video exposure has both positive and negative impacts on the physical activity of older adults. Efforts are needed to develop strategies to leverage the benefits while avoiding the harms of short-form videos.

Association Between Exposure to Tobacco Content on Social Media and Tobacco Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Importance

Exposure to tobacco-related content on social media may foster positive attitudes toward tobacco products and brands, and influence the likelihood of initiating or continuing use of tobacco, especially among adolescents and young adults.

Objective

To perform the first systematic review and meta-analysis, to our knowledge, on studies that examined the association between exposure to tobacco content on social media and lifetime tobacco use, past 30-day tobacco use, and susceptibility to use tobacco among never users.

Data Sources

Tobacco, social media, and marketing search terms were entered into online databases, including MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and PsychINFO. Study characteristics, including research design and methods, sampling strategy, and demographics, were assessed for each study.

Study Selection

Studies reporting odds ratios (ORs) for self-reported exposure to, or experimentally manipulated, tobacco content on social media and lifetime tobacco use, past 30-day tobacco, and susceptibility to use tobacco among never users. The systematic search produced 897 independent articles, of which 29 studies met inclusion criteria.

Data Extraction and Synthesis

A 3-level random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate ORs, 95% CIs, and heterogeneity (I2) for each tobacco use outcome. Study quality and publication bias were assessed.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Lifetime tobacco use, past 30-day tobacco use, and susceptibility to use tobacco among never users. Tobacco use included e-cigarettes, cigarettes, and other (cigar, hookah, smokeless tobacco).

Results

The total sample size across the 24 included datasets was 139 624, including 100 666 adolescents (72%), 20 710 young adults (15%), and 18 248 adults (13%). Participants who were exposed to tobacco content on social media, compared with those who were not exposed, had greater odds of reporting lifetime tobacco use (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.54-3.08; I2 = 94%), past 30-day tobacco use (OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.79-2.67; I2 = 84%), and susceptibility to use tobacco among never users (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.65-2.63; I2 = 73%). Subgroup analyses showed similar associations for tobacco promotions, active engagement, passive engagement, lifetime exposure to tobacco content, exposure to tobacco content on more than 2 platforms, and exposure to tobacco content among adolescents and young adults.

Conclusions and Relevance

Findings suggest that a comprehensive strategy to reduce the amount of tobacco content on social media should be developed by federal regulators. Such actions may have downstream effects on adolescent and young adult exposure to protobacco content, and ultimately tobacco use behaviors.