Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
Published on: May 31, 2019
Twitter=quitter? An analysis of Twitter quit smoking social networks
Judith J Prochaska1, Cornelia Pechmann, Romina Kim
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984, USA. jprochaska@ucsf.edu
Objective:
Widely popular, Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service, offers potential for health promotion. This study examined the activity of Twitter quit smoking social network accounts.
Design:
A cross-sectional analysis identified 153 activated Twitter quit smoking accounts dating back to 2007 and examined recent account activity for the month of August 2010.
Results:
The accounts had a median of 155 followers and 82 total tweets per account; 49% of accounts had >100 tweets. Posted content was largely inconsistent with clinical guidelines; 48% linked to commercial sites for quitting smoking and 43% had tweets on e-cigarettes. In August 2010, 81 of the accounts (53%) were still active.
Conclusions:
Though popular for building quit smoking social networks, many of the Twitter accounts were no longer active, and tweet content was largely inconsistent with clinical guidelines. Future research is needed to examine the effectiveness of Twitter for supporting smoking cessation.
Related Concept Videos
Statistical Methods for Analyzing Epidemiological Data
Social Exchange Theory
Social Exchange Theory
Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication
Pulmonary Function Tests
Pulmonary Function Tests are crucial diagnostic tools for assessing respiratory function, particularly in patients with chronic respiratory disorders. They comprehensively evaluate lung volumes, ventilatory function, breathing mechanics, diffusion, and gas exchange. These tests help diagnose pulmonary diseases and play a significant role in monitoring disease progression, evaluating disability, and assessing response to therapy.
PFTs involve using a spirometer, a...
Social Loafing
