A new study discovered that social networks designed to help people kicking the smoking habit are actually effective, especially if the users decide to take actively part in the process. The study was carried out by the University of Iowa and the nonprofit anti-tobacco organization Truth Initiative.

The new research analysed the smoking habits of more than 2,600 smokers who took part in the online community BecomeAnEX.org, Truth Initiative’s online project aimed at smoking cessation created in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. The research noted that about 1/5 of the participants who were actively engaging with the community after their first week quit smoking three months later. On the other hand, these who were less involved with the community were also less likely to quit.

The assistant professor of management sciences Dr Kang Zhao, UI Tippie College of Business and co-author of the study, explained that the findings show how online interaction and engagement can be predictors of offline behaviour. “How central you become in the online social network after the first week is a good indicator of whether you will quit smoking,” explained Dr Zhao. “This is the first study to look at smokers’ behaviors in an online community over time and to report a prospective relationship between social network involvement and quitting smoking.” The online community BecomeAnEX allows members to interact through messages, forums and blogs, in order to share information and provide reciprocal support. Even though the main focus of the website is smoking cessations, the users who registers to the community can post on and discuss any topic. Since 2008, when the website was launched, the users count went up to 800,000, creating a large, active community of current and former tobacco users sharing stories, and experiences, and supporting each other.

The research was funded by the National Cancer Institute and constructed a large-scale social network based on users’ posting habits. Dr Zhao noted that one of the most significant result of the study can be observed in the potential positive correlation between increasing users’ integration into the social network and effective drop ratio of the smoking activity. In fact, when the researchers checked the status of the users three months after their registration on the BecomeAnEx community, these who had been currently involved with the social network and had actively participated in it were more likely to have kicked the smoking habit.

Statistically speaking, after three months, 21 percent of active users – or those who actively contributed to contents in the community – quit smoking; 11 percent of passive users – those who only read others’ posts – quit smoking; and only 8 percent of study participants that never visited quit smoking. The current study did not actually focus on the “why” behind the positive effect on smoking cessation caused by greater community involvement. However, the researchers speculate it may be due to the extremely powerful social network influences.

“Spending time with others who are actively engaged in quitting smoking in a place where being a nonsmoker is supported and encouraged gives smokers the practical advice and support they need to stay with a difficult behavior change,” explained Amanda Graham, senior vice president, Innovations, of Truth Initiative and lead author. “We know that quitting tobacco can be extremely difficult. These results demonstrate what we hear from tobacco users, which is that online social connections and relationships can make a real difference.”

Written by: Pietro Paolo Frigenti

Journal Reference:
Graham, A. L., Zhao, K., Papandonatos, G. D., Erar, B., Wang, X., Amato, M. S., Cha, S., Cohn, A. M., Pearson, J. L. (2017). A prospective examination of online social network dynamics and smoking cessation. PLOS ONE, 12 (8): e0183655 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183655