Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
J Health Commun. 2023 Aug 3;28(8):487-497. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2023.2225447. Epub 2023 Jun 21.
Reddit is a popular hub for discussing vaping. A deeper understanding of the factors that influence this online discourse could inform public health messaging efforts targeting this platform. Using a network analysis framework, we sought to investigate the role of opinion leaders and online communities in facilitating vaping discussions on Reddit. We collected Reddit submissions about vaping posted in May 2021 and used these submissions to generate subreddit-level (=261) and thread-level (=8,377) data sets. We coded subreddits into four community categories: 1) Vaping, 2) Substance use, 3) Cessation, and 4) Non-specific. We used sociometric in-degree centrality statistics to identify subreddit opinion leaders. We computed non-parametric ANOVAs and negative binomial regressions to test associations between opinion leadership and subreddit community category variables on subreddit network composition (comprised of subreddit-level network nodes and edges) and the number of commenters on Reddit threads about vaping (thread-level). Subreddit network composition was largely dependent on opinion leaders in Non-specific communities, and less so in Vaping and Substance use communities. At the thread-level, the rate of commenters was higher among threads initiated by opinion leaders than non-opinion leaders (adjusted rate ratio [aRR]=4.84). Furthermore, threads posted in Vaping (aRR=1.64), Substance use (aRR=1.92), and Cessation (aRR=1.21) communities had higher commenter rates than those posted in Non-specific communities. Communities and opinion leaders play a key role in the composition and reach of vaping discussions on Reddit. These findings provide a foundation for public health campaigns and interventions targeting Reddit and perhaps other social media platforms.
Reddit 是一个讨论 vaping 的热门平台。深入了解影响这一在线讨论的因素,可以为针对这一平台的公共卫生宣传工作提供信息。我们使用网络分析框架,旨在调查意见领袖和在线社区在促进 Reddit 上 vaping 讨论方面的作用。我们收集了 2021 年 5 月在 Reddit 上发布的关于 vaping 的帖子,并使用这些帖子生成了子版块级别(=261)和线程级别(=8377)数据集。我们将子版块分为四个社区类别:1)Vaping,2)物质使用,3)戒断,和 4)非特定。我们使用社会计量学中的入度中心度统计数据来识别子版块中的意见领袖。我们计算了非参数 ANOVA 和负二项回归,以测试意见领袖和子版块社区类别变量与子版块网络组成(由子版块级别网络节点和边组成)以及 Reddit 上关于 vaping 的线程评论者数量(线程级别)之间的关联。子版块网络组成在很大程度上取决于非特定社区中的意见领袖,而在 vaping 和物质使用社区中则较少。在线程级别,意见领袖发起的线程评论者数量高于非意见领袖(调整后的比率比[aRR]=4.84)。此外,在 vaping(aRR=1.64)、物质使用(aRR=1.92)和戒断(aRR=1.21)社区中发布的线程比在非特定社区中发布的线程有更高的评论者率。社区和意见领袖在 Reddit 上 vaping 讨论的组成和传播中发挥着关键作用。这些发现为针对 Reddit 及其他社交媒体平台的公共卫生运动和干预措施提供了基础。