BACKGROUND
Substance use among adolescents represents a significant public health concern. Despite research on the influence of contextual factors on teenage substance use, the nuances of these contexts and associated emotions remain underexplored, particularly within online communities.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to decode the context factors, emotion tones, and topics discussed in substance use-related posts within the r/teenager subreddit. We introduce an innovative approach leveraging natural language processing to analyze discussions within a large online community of teenagers on Reddit.
METHODS
We collected 31,724 substance use-related posts from the r/teenagers subreddit in English, spanning from 2018 to 2023. A mixed methods was applied on these posts, including trend analysis to explore the dynamic context within the data. The BERT family of models was used to extract sentiment and topic features.
RESULTS
The analysis revealed that "drink" and "weed" were the most frequently mentioned substances among teenagers. Peaks in discussions occurred during summer months, particularly in July 2023. Substance use posts exhibited higher levels of negative emotions such as annoyance, sadness, and disappointment. Family dynamics significantly impacted the teenage substance use environment and behaviors. The term "Dad" was commonly associated with familial roles and the setting of examples within the household, particularly regarding habits and behaviors around substance consumption and addiction. The term "Mum" was often at the forefront of familial discussions about marijuana and smoking cessation.
CONCLUSIONS
The study's findings provide deeper insights into the multifaceted nature of substance use discussions among teenagers, informing potential intervention strategies and future research directions. The authors underscore the need for targeted interventions addressing peer influence, familial communication, and emotional well-being in mitigating adolescent substance use.