Grant

Social Dynamics of Substance Use in Online Social Networks for Smoking Cessation

Grant Summary:

Millions of smokers turn to the Internet each year for cessation assistance and hundreds of thousands seek advice and support in online social networks for smoking cessation. Though it has been nearly 20 years since the first online social network for smoking cessation was launched, little is known about the ways in which online social networks impact tobacco use. This study examined 6 years of longitudinal data from EX to learn how online social networks influence smoking cessation. Our multidisciplinary team of behavioral and computational social scientists conducted a series of social network analyses, sentiment analyses, text analytics to better understand the ways in which online communications and relationships translate into offline behavior change.

Associated Paper(s):
Human Resources Today