@Article{info:doi/10.2196/54052,
author="Groshon, Laurie
and Waring, Molly E
and Blashill, Aaron J
and Dean, Kristen
and Bankwalla, Sanaya
and Palmer, Lindsay
and Pagoto, Sherry",
title="A Content Analysis of Indoor Tanning Twitter Chatter During COVID-19 Shutdowns: Cross-Sectional Qualitative Study",
journal="JMIR Dermatol",
year="2024",
month="Mar",
day="4",
volume="7",
pages="e54052",
keywords="attitude; attitudes; content analysis; dermatology; opinion; perception; perceptions; perspective; perspectives; sentiment; skin; social media; sun; tan; tanner; tanners; tanning; tweet; tweets; Twitter",
abstract="Background: Indoor tanning is a preventable risk factor for skin cancer. Statewide shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in temporary closures of tanning businesses. Little is known about how tanners reacted to losing access to tanning businesses. Objective: This study aimed to analyze Twitter (subsequently rebranded as X) chatter about indoor tanning during the statewide pandemic shutdowns. Methods: We collected tweets from March 15 to April 30, 2020, and performed a directed content analysis of a random sample of 20{\%} (1165/5811) of tweets from each week. The 2 coders independently rated themes ($\kappa$=0.67-1.0; 94{\%}-100{\%} agreement). Results: About half (589/1165, 50.6{\%}) of tweets were by people unlikely to indoor tan, and most of these mocked tanners or the act of tanning (562/589, 94.9{\%}). A total of 34{\%} (402/1165) of tweets were posted by users likely to indoor tan, and most of these (260/402, 64.7{\%}) mentioned missing tanning beds, often citing appearance- or mood-related reasons or withdrawal. Some tweets by tanners expressed a desire to purchase or use home tanning beds (90/402, 22{\%}), while only 3.9{\%} (16/402) mentioned tanning alternatives (eg, self-tanner). Very few tweets (29/1165, 2.5{\%}) were public health messages about the dangers of indoor tanning. Conclusions: Findings revealed that during statewide shutdowns, half of the tweets about indoor tanning were mocking tanning bed users and the tanned look, while about one-third were indoor tanners reacting to their inability to access tanning beds. Future work is needed to understand emerging trends in tanning post pandemic. ",
issn="2562-0959",
doi="10.2196/54052",
url="https://derma.jmir.org/2024/1/e54052",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/54052",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38437006"
}