Online Program

281079
Young adult bar goer's social media use


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Ashley Sanders-Jackson, PhD, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Pamela Ling, MD, MPH, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
ntroduction: Young adult smoking rates are higher than for any other age group in the United States, with young adult bar goers smoking at a rate of roughly 60%. Young adults may be amenable to smoking cessation interventions using social media, but little is known about how young adult bar goers use social media or how to design an effective social media intervention. Methods: We collected survey data from 217 young adults recruited from bars and nightclubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego CA, Tuscon, AZ, Oklahoma City, OK and Nashville, TN, to determine their social media use patterns. Results: The majority of survey respondents (ranging from 69% in Oklahoma City to 95% in Los Angeles) reported they used social media daily. Survey respondents reported that Facebook was used most often (89%). The second most frequently used social media tools varied by location with Twitter being the most common in Tuscon (19%), Los Angeles (52%), Oklahoma (25%) and Nashville (50%) and Tumblr being the most common in San Francisco (21%). In San Diego, very few respondents reported a secondary social media tool. Respondents also used Instagram (13%) and Pinterest (less than 5%). There were no clear differences between smokers and non-smokers in their use patterns. Discussion: Young adult bar goers use social media and this may be an effective avenue for an intervention. However, there are location-based differences in social media use that may affect the intervention . Possible strategies for social media interventions will be discussed.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe young adult bar goer social media use. Describe two measures of social media use for this population. Discuss ways to use social media for interventions in this population.

Keyword(s): Media, Smoking

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a Ph.D. in health communication and am completing a postdoctoral fellowship in tobacco control. I have substantial methodological and subject-area knowledge related to the contents of this abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.