Daily Associations Between Social Media Exposure and E-Cigarette Use Among Mexican American College Students

Vaping-related content is prevalent on social media, including industry-sponsored advertising and user-generated content that normalizes use. While previous research suggests a link between social media exposure and vaping, this relationship remains understudied among vulnerable populations like Mexican Americans. This study examined the relationship between daily social media exposure and vaping among Mexican American young adults.

Participants were 51 Mexican American college students aged 18-25 years (72.5% female) who were current vapers. Participants were involved in an ecological momentary assessment study, in which they reported exposure to vaping-related content on social media, time spent on social media, and vaping behaviors on their smartphones over a 14-day period in Spring 2023. Linear mixed models were used to assess the number of times participants vaped each day. Two time-varying covariates-times saw vaping advertisements and hours on social media-were analyzed as both between-subject (average across days) and within-subject (day-level) effects. Models were adjusted for sex, age, Pell Grant recipient status, border institution attendance, and social media engagement (e.g., posting vape-related photos or videos).

There was no significant relationship between the number of times a participant saw vaping ads and daily vaping frequency (Model 1). However, as daily hours on social media increased, so did vaping frequency (Model 2, p = 0.018; Model 3, p = 0.027).

Time spent on social media is associated with an increased frequency of daily vaping among Mexican American college students. Social media may influence vaping behaviors independently of industry-sponsored marketing or explicit pro-vaping content. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms or other factors (e.g., online peer influence) by which social media impacts vaping.