Describing Memes Referencing Vaping: Thematic Analysis

Area of Science:

• Digital Health Communication
• Adolescent Health Behaviors
• Social Media Analysis

Background:

• Memes are prevalent in internet culture and rapidly spread on social media, particularly among youth.
• E-cigarette use has increased, yet research on the intersection of memes and vaping is limited.
• Memes may contribute to the normalization of vaping and indicate emerging product trends.

Purpose of the Study:

• To content analyze vaping-related memes to identify key themes, characters, and depicted vape products.
• To understand the role of memes in the online e-cigarette information landscape.
• To assess the potential impact of memes on vaping normalization among young people.

Main Methods:

• A dataset of 527 vaping-related memes was collected from a dedicated subreddit.
• An inductive approach was used by the research team to identify 14 distinct themes.
• Memes were electronically copied and analyzed for content, including themes, characters, and product references.

Main Results:

• The most predominant theme was 'In-group communication' (38.33%), followed by 'Critique of vaping regulations and public perceptions' (14.42%).
• Commonly depicted content included 'Cartoons' (23.53%), 'Celebrities' (14.23%), and 'Fictional characters' (10.06%).
• References to 'Tanks or mods' (22.77%), 'Component parts' (18.22%), and 'E-liquids/Nicotine salts' (15.37%) were frequent.

Conclusions:

• Vaping memes frequently feature 'in-group communication' and youth-friendly 'cartoons', raising concerns about normalizing vaping behaviors.
• Continuous monitoring of vaping memes is recommended to identify trends and inform public health interventions.
• Further research should investigate the impact of memes on adolescent and young adult attitudes and behaviors toward vaping.