Dataset Information

Rolling and scrolling: The portrayal of marijuana cigars (blunts) on YouTube.

ABSTRACT: Background:Blunts are partially or fully hollowed-out cigars or cigarillos that are filled with marijuana. Despite the high prevalence of blunt use, very few studies assess this specific method of cannabis administration. YouTube, a popular video-sharing website, has the potential to provide insights into blunt use. Methods:The purpose of this study was to examine the content of YouTube videos that discuss blunts. A sample of 41 videos was coded for content. Results:The 41 videos had a total of 27,579,636 views. Most of the individuals in the videos were male (85%) and many appeared to be White (80%) and under the age of 25 (46%). Only 34% of the videos had an age restriction. The majority of messages in the videos promoted blunt use (93%) and showed at least one person rolling (76%) and/or smoking (66%) a blunt. The videos mainly consisted of introductions to blunt use (76%) and tips and personal experiences with blunt use (73%). Conclusions:YouTube videos on blunt use are readily available and primarily promote the use of blunts. Future research should continue to monitor YouTube content and develop videos on social media platforms that inform consumers of the health effects associated with blunt use.

SUBMITTER: Montgomery L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5991612 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rolling and scrolling: The portrayal of marijuana cigars (blunts) on YouTube.

Montgomery LaTrice L Yockey Andrew A

Journal of substance use 20180302 4

<h4>Background</h4>Blunts are partially or fully hollowed-out cigars or cigarillos that are filled with marijuana. Despite the high prevalence of blunt use, very few studies assess this specific method of cannabis administration. YouTube, a popular video-sharing website, has the potential to provide insights into blunt use.<h4>Methods</h4>The purpose of this study was to examine the content of YouTube videos that discuss blunts. A sample of 41 videos was coded for content.<h4>Results</h4>The 41 ...[more]

PMID: 29887756

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Project description:Objectives:The Internet in general, and YouTube in particular, is now one of the most popular sources of health-related information. Pain neuroscience education has become a primary tool for managing persistent pain, based in part on the discovery that information about pain can change pain. Our objective was to examine the availability, characteristics, and content of YouTube videos that address the neuroscience of pain. Methods:We conducted a systematic review of videos on YouTube using the search terms "pain education", "what is pain", and "pain brain" in January 2018. Videos were included if they were in English, were under 10 minutes long, and included information on the neuroscience of pain. Videos were coded for (i) descriptive characteristics (e.g., number of views, duration on YouTube), (ii) source and style, (iii) whether or not they addressed seven pre-determined target concepts of pain neuroscience education (e.g., 'Pain is not an accurate marker of tissue state'), and (iv) how engaging they were. Results:We found 106 unique videos that met the inclusion criteria. The videos ranged from having four views to over five million views (Mdn = 1,163 views), with the three most highly viewed videos accounting for 75% of the total views. Animated videos were much more highly viewed than non-animated videos. Only a small number of videos had been posted by a clearly-identifiable reputable source such as an academic or medical institution (10%), although a number of videos were posted by healthcare professionals and professional medical societies. For a small number of videos (7%), the source was unclear. We found 17 videos that addressed at least one target concept of pain neuroscience science education, only nine of which were considered to be at least somewhat engaging. The target concept 'Pain is a brain output' was considered to be well addressed by the most videos (N = 11), followed by 'Pain is a protector' (N = 10). We found only one video that adequately addressed all seven target concepts of pain neuroscience education. Discussion:YouTube contains a variety of videos that practitioners, patients, and families may view to access pain neuroscience education information. A small portion of these videos addressed one or more target concepts of pain neuroscience education in an engaging manner. It is yet to be determined to what extent patients are able to learn information from these videos, to what extent the videos promote behavior change, and thus to what extent the videos may be useful for clinical practice.

Dataset Information

Rolling and scrolling: The portrayal of marijuana cigars (blunts) on YouTube.

Publications

Rolling and scrolling: The portrayal of marijuana cigars (blunts) on YouTube.

Similar Datasets

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