Impact of Repeated Negative Affective Social Media Content on Acceptability of the IUD

Access to safe and effective contraception is important for the advancement of public health and feminist goals. Unfortunately, social media harbors negative content about contraceptives, specifically the intrauterine device (IUD). Viewing this content repeatedly may deter people from considering IUDs. Value-centered decision-making about contraceptives requires that people are not unduly pressured or biased by external sources. Social media may bias people by overrepresenting negative experiences and reducing acceptability of IUDs. This study examined whether exposure to negative IUD content influenced acceptability of the IUD and evaluated if this effect was mediated by two psychological pathways - the affect heuristic and/or availability heuristic. In an online experimental study, participants (N = 206, M_Age=18.9 SD = 2.02) were randomized to view a negative IUD social media exposure or a control condition. Participants self-reported IUD acceptability, dread about the IUD, and likelihood of a negative IUD experience. A two-way ANOVA revealed that acceptability of IUDs among participants exposed to negative content was significantly lower than participants who did not view content. The relationship between social media exposure and lower acceptability of IUDs was serially mediated by the availability heuristic (i.e. perceived likelihood of a negative IUD experience) and the affect heuristic (i.e. feelings of dread about the IUD). Our findings suggest that IUD content may have a harmful impact on acceptability of IUDs, which could have downstream impacts on contraceptive decision-making. This study provided support for two mechanisms: the availability heuristic and the affect heuristic. Future interventions should leverage these mechanisms to mitigate the impact of negative IUD content.