Department of Preventive Youth Care, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Research Priority Area Yield, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J Adolesc. 2024 Apr;96(3):429-442. doi: 10.1002/jad.12207. Epub 2023 Jun 19.
YouTube vloggers may be important socialization figures, yet their influence on adolescents' health-related behaviors and cognitions is largely untested. In this two-study mixed-method project, we first assessed the extent of (non)compliance to COVID-19 regulations by vloggers on YouTube and how viewers reacted to this. Second, we experimentally assessed the effects of vlogger behavior paired with viewer evaluations on adolescents' COVID-19-related attitudes, intentions, and behavior.
For Study 1, we coded 240 vlogs of eight popular Dutch vloggers on YouTube recorded in the period of February 2020-March 2021. For our 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment in Study 2, Dutch adolescents (N = 285, M = 12.99, SD = 1.02, 41.8% girls) were randomly assigned to conditions in which they saw vlogs showing either compliance or noncompliance to COVID-19 regulations, and to conditions in which they saw either supportive or dismissive comments under these vlogs.
Study 1: Vloggers' noncompliance with COVID-19 regulations was not uncommon and received relatively more viewer support than compliance, suggesting that portrayed noncompliance may be potentially influential. Study 2: Adolescents were more worried about COVID-19 after they watched a compliant (vs. noncompliant) vlogger. Also, vlogger noncompliance decreased adolescents' perceived importance of COVID-19 regulations and rule-setting for adolescents who identified strongly with the vloggers they watched.
Vloggers' (non)compliance affects adolescents' COVID-19-related worrying, and attitudes and behavior of adolescents who identify with vloggers strongly. This seems concerning given the sometimes harmful and risky behaviors vloggers portray online but could potentially also be employed to encourage healthy behaviors.
YouTube 视频博主可能是重要的社会化人物，但他们对青少年健康相关行为和认知的影响在很大程度上尚未得到验证。在这个由两项研究组成的混合方法项目中，我们首先评估了 YouTube 上的视频博主遵守（或违反）新冠疫情规定的程度，以及观众对此的反应。其次，我们通过实验评估了视频博主行为与观众评价对青少年新冠疫情相关态度、意图和行为的影响。
在研究 1 中，我们对 8 位荷兰知名 YouTube 视频博主在 2020 年 2 月至 2021 年 3 月期间发布的 240 个视频进行了编码。在研究 2 的 2×2 被试间实验中，荷兰青少年（N=285，M=12.99，SD=1.02，41.8%为女性）被随机分配到观看遵守或违反新冠疫情规定的视频博主视频，以及观看支持或轻视这些视频博主视频下评论的条件中。
研究 1：视频博主违反新冠疫情规定的情况并不少见，并且得到了相对更多的观众支持，这表明所描述的违规行为可能具有潜在的影响力。研究 2：青少年在观看遵守规定的（相比违反规定的）视频博主后，对新冠疫情的担忧增加了。此外，对于与他们观看的视频博主强烈认同的青少年来说，视频博主违反规定会降低他们对新冠疫情规定和规则制定的重要性认知。
视频博主的（不）遵守情况会影响青少年对新冠疫情的担忧，以及与视频博主强烈认同的青少年的态度和行为。鉴于视频博主在网上有时会表现出有害和危险的行为，这令人担忧，但也可能被用来鼓励健康行为。
