Mechanisms of social media effects on attitudes toward e-cigarette use: Motivations, mediators, and moderators in a national survey of adolescents

Abstract

Background: Exposure to risk behavior on social media is associated with risk behavior tendencies among adolescents, but research on the mechanisms underlying the effects of social media exposure is sparse. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the motivations of social media use and the mediating and moderating mechanisms of their effects on attitude toward electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among adolescents. Methods: Using data from a national sample survey of adolescents (age=14-17 years, N=594), we developed and validated a social media use motivation scale. We examined the roles of motivations in the effect of social media use on risk exposure and risk attitude. Results: Motivations for social media use included agency, self-expression, realism, social learning, social comparison, and filter. These motivations were associated differentially with the frequency of use of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Frequency of social media use was positively associated with exposure to e-cigarette messages across the four platforms (Ps