Background Web-based social support can address social isolation and unmet support needs among young adults with cancer (aged 18-39 years). Given that 94% of young adults own and use smartphones, social media can offer personalized, accessible social support among peers with cancer. Objective This study aims to examine the specific benefits, downsides, and topics of social support via social media among young adults with cancer. Methods We conducted semistructured interviews with young adults with cancer, aged between 18 and 39 years, who were receiving treatment or had completed treatment for cancer. Results Most participants (N=45) used general audience platforms (eg, Facebook groups), and some cancer-specific social media (eg, Caring Bridge), to discuss relevant lived experiences for medical information (managing side effects and treatment uncertainty) and navigating life with cancer (parenting and financial issues). Participants valued socializing with other young adults with cancer, making connections outside their personal networks, and being able to validate their emotional and mental health experiences without time and physical constraints. However, using social media for peer support can be an emotional burden, especially when others post disheartening or harassing content, and can heighten privacy concerns, especially when navigating cancer-related stigma. Conclusions Social media allows young adults to connect with peers to share and feel validated about their treatment and life concerns. However, barriers exist for receiving support from social media; these could be reduced through content moderation and developing more customizable, potentially cancer-specific social media apps and platforms to enhance one’s ability to find peers and manage groups.

Purpose: Social isolation is a prominent challenge for many young adults with cancer. Despite desires for peer-to-peer connections through technology, little is known about how young adults initiate or use social media for support over time. Methods:We interviewed young adults with cancer (n = 45; age 18-39, in or post cancer treatment) to explore their initiation of social media for support, changes in use over time, and types of connections sought.Results: Young adults with cancer learn about online support through individual personal recommendations, advocacy organizations, or searching on Google or social media. Most were reluctant to use social media support initially because of feeling overwhelmed-from diagnoses, abundance of online information, or demands of participation-and joined when informational and emotional needs arose.Many wished they had joined earlier. Some participants use social media to make close connections while others simply want to "see" others' shared experiences or crowdsource information. Conclusion:Young adults with cancer often haphazardly find online support from personal recommendations or Internet searches. Desires for social media connections are not one-size-fits-all; there are important audience segmentations for the degree and type of peer support. Implications for Cancer Survivors:Better promotion of online social support options and benefits-early in one's cancer timeline and systematically through healthcare providers, cancer organizations, or family and friends-could improve access to helpful peer-to-peer support.

sychological stress and suicide risk have significantly increased from 2008 to 2017 among people in the US aged 18 to 25 years. 1 Twelve-month prevalence of major depressive episodes has significantly increased for people aged 12 to 20 years from 2005 to 2014. 2 Anxiety and depression remain underdiagnosed and undertreated among young people. Anxiety affects 30% of adolescents, yet 80% of those affected never seek treatment. 3 Only 50% of adolescents with depression are diagnosed before reaching adulthood. 4,5 Mental health risk especially is increasing among young Black/ African American male individuals (YBAAM), 6 who are often disproportionately exposed to environmental, economic, and family stressors linked with depression and anxiety. [7][8][9][10][11] Young Black/African American male individuals, and US adolescents generally, are among the least likely to use mental health services. [12][13][14][15] Corresponding with the lack of mental health treatment among US youths, the suicide rate for people aged 15 to 24 years in the US in 2017 reached its highest point since 1960. 16 Among people aged 10 to 24 years, suicide rates climbed 56% from 2007 to 2017. 17 Suicide rates among Black/African American youths aged 13 to 19 years increased by 60% since 2001, and in 2017, medical treatment for suicide attempts was provided to 68 528 YBAAM aged 13 to 19 years. 18 Young Black/African American male individuals constitute a significant portion of the audience for rap music, which IMPORTANCE Rap artists are among the most recognizable celebrities in the US, serving as role models to an increasingly diverse audience of listeners. Through their lyrics, these artists have the potential to shape mental health discourse and reduce stigma. OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence and nature of mental health themes in popular rap music amid a period of documented increases in mental health distress and suicide risk among young people in the US and young Black/African American male individuals in particular.

Introduction Tobacco marketing includes text and visual content, which conveys important meaning to consumers and influences use. Little is known about the marketing tactics used by a popular brand of cigarillos on social media to promote their products, including their visual design. Methods A content analysis was conducted to analyze text and visuals for all posts on Swisher Sweets’ official Instagram account from Jan 23 2013 –Feb 28 2020. We assessed product depictions (e.g., warnings, smoking cues), presence of FDA-prohibited or potentially misleading claims (e.g., lower risk, organic), marketing tactics (e.g., celebrities, selling propositions), flavors, and demographic representation. Results We coded 1402 posts. Smoking cues (e.g., images of people smoking, product imagery) were in 764 posts (54.5%), and a warning appeared in 690 (49.2%) posts, but obscured in 29.4% of those instances (n=203). No posts included FDA-prohibited claims, but some potentially misleading language was identified, including the use of words or visual depictions of smooth (n=254, 18.1%) and quality/well-made (n=239, 17%). Marketing tactics such as scarcity (n=159, 11.3%), event promotion (n=586, 41.8%), and alcohol depictions (n=171, 12.2%) were common, and flavor names appeared in 598 posts (42.7%). People depicted were often young adults (n=709, 50.6%), Black/African American (n=549, 39.2%), and in groups (n=473, 33.7%). Conclusions Both text and visuals are used to market Swisher Sweets on their Instagram account. Using social images of young adults, especially Black individuals, signals the intended use of the product. These images of visual-based social media may influence appeal, glamorization, and normalization of cigarillo smoking among vulnerable populations. Implications Tobacco marketing, including from popular cigarillo brands like Swisher Sweets, is widely used to influence consumer perceptions and behavior. Social media marketing includes text and visual, both of which increase product appeal and encourage use. Visual-based social media from the industry itself have been understudied, particularly for cigarillos. This study characterizes the ways in which Swisher Sweets uses text and visuals to market their products through their Instagram account, including smoking cues, potentially misleading language, use of celebrity endorsers, and promotion and sponsorship of events.

BACKGROUND Web-based social support can address social isolation and unmet support needs among young adults with cancer (aged 18-39 years). Given that 94% of young adults own and use smartphones, social media can offer personalized, accessible social support among peers with cancer. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine the specific benefits, downsides, and topics of social support via social media among young adults with cancer. METHODS We conducted semistructured interviews with young adults with cancer, aged between 18 and 39 years, who were receiving treatment or had completed treatment for cancer. RESULTS Most participants (N=45) used general audience platforms (eg, Facebook groups), and some cancer-specific social media (eg, Caring Bridge), to discuss relevant lived experiences for medical information (managing side effects and treatment uncertainty) and navigating life with cancer (parenting and financial issues). Participants valued socializing with other young adults with cancer, making connections outside their personal networks, and being able to validate their emotional and mental health experiences without time and physical constraints. However, using social media for peer support can be an emotional burden, especially when others post disheartening or harassing content, and can heighten privacy concerns, especially when navigating cancer-related stigma. CONCLUSIONS Social media allows young adults to connect with peers to share and feel validated about their treatment and life concerns. However, barriers exist for receiving support from social media; these could be reduced through content moderation and developing more customizable, potentially cancer-specific social media apps and platforms to enhance one’s ability to find peers and manage groups. CLINICALTRIAL