Science Communication Meets Consumer Relations: An Analysis of Twitter Use by 23andMe

Lee, Nicole; Abitbol, Alan; VanDyke, Matthew S.

doi:10.1177/1075547020914906

Cited by 9 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The test purposes found in the videos largely resemble the most common genetic test purposes, with most videos talking about ancestry or relationship testing and fewer about trait and health testing. This finding is in line with previous research on YouTube videos related to DTC genetic testing [ 28 , 31 ] and social media in general [ 20 , 21 , 25 ]. Nonetheless, in contrast to our study, Yin et al [ 27 ] found in their collected Reddit data set that relationship and health testing were more often mentioned than ancestry testing.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…However, our results did not show any specific topics on the educational content of DTC genetic testing. Considering that consumers in the United States continue to use DTC ancestry tests to prove their “genetic purity” and discriminate against marginalized ethnic groups such as the aforementioned ones, especially on social media [ 17 , 18 ], research has called for more educational content and scientific explanations about DTC genetic testing [ 20 , 21 ]. Despite finding some videos expressing concerns toward DTC genetic testing (eg, documentaries), the majority of the videos seem to fail to highlight the advantages as well as the disadvantages and risks of DTC genetic testing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the increasing spread and availability of DTC genetic testing [ 2 ] and a general tendency in society to retrieve as well as discuss health information and health-related topics on the internet [ 19 ], it is by no means surprising that DTC genetic testing is a frequent and recent topic on many social media platforms [ 18 , 20 , 21 ]. In particular, YouTube, one of the largest social media platforms and the most comprehensive web-based video platform [ 22 ], serves as the first port of call for many internet users to discuss health information and DTC genetic testing in particular [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing on Social Media: Topic Modeling and Sentiment Analysis of YouTube Users' Comments

Toussaint¹,

Renner²,

Lins³

et al. 2022

JMIR Infodemiology

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Background With direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing enabling self-responsible access to novel information on ancestry, traits, or health, consumers often turn to social media for assistance and discussion. YouTube, the largest social media platform for videos, offers an abundance of DTC genetic testing–related videos. Nevertheless, user discourse in the comments sections of these videos is largely unexplored. Objective This study aims to address the lack of knowledge concerning user discourse in the comments sections of DTC genetic testing–related videos on YouTube by exploring topics discussed and users' attitudes toward these videos. Methods We employed a 3-step research approach. First, we collected metadata and comments of the 248 most viewed DTC genetic testing–related videos on YouTube. Second, we conducted topic modeling using word frequency analysis, bigram analysis, and structural topic modeling to identify topics discussed in the comments sections of those videos. Finally, we employed Bing (binary), National Research Council Canada (NRC) emotion, and 9-level sentiment analysis to identify users' attitudes toward these DTC genetic testing–related videos, as expressed in their comments. Results We collected 84,082 comments from the 248 most viewed DTC genetic testing–related YouTube videos. With topic modeling, we identified 6 prevailing topics on (1) general genetic testing, (2) ancestry testing, (3) relationship testing, (4) health and trait testing, (5) ethical concerns, and (6) YouTube video reaction. Further, our sentiment analysis indicates strong positive emotions (anticipation, joy, surprise, and trust) and a neutral-to-positive attitude toward DTC genetic testing–related videos. Conclusions With this study, we demonstrate how to identify users' attitudes on DTC genetic testing by examining topics and opinions based on YouTube video comments. Shedding light on user discourse on social media, our findings suggest that users are highly interested in DTC genetic testing and related social media content. Nonetheless, with this novel market constantly evolving, service providers, content providers, or regulatory authorities may still need to adapt their services to users' interests and desires.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing on Social Media: Topic Modeling and Sentiment Analysis of YouTube Users' Comments

Toussaint¹,

Renner²,

Lins³

et al. 2022

JMIR Infodemiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…While science communication literature calls on communicators and audiences to interact and build relationships on social media ( Taylor and Kent, 2014 ; Avidar et al, 2015 ), there is still a lack of research on the predictors of audience dissemination. Previous research related to social media focuses mostly on scientists’ motivation for choosing online platforms ( Poliakoff and Webb, 2007 ; Mewburn and Thomson, 2013 ; Jia et al, 2017 ), how effectively science institutions are using social media ( Lee and VanDyke, 2015 ; Lee et al, 2018 ), core topics around scientific issues ( Pearce et al, 2014 ; Büchi, 2017 ; Lee et al, 2020 ), audience’s trust in online science content ( Liang et al, 2014 ; Huber et al, 2019 ) as well as the extent to which audiences use social media ( Anderson et al, 2010 ; Su et al, 2015 ; Hargittai et al, 2018 ). However, little has examined audience’s SSC behavior.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motivation to participate in secondary science communication

Bai

2022

Front. Psychol.

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The rise of social media provides convenient mechanisms for audiences to participate in secondary science communication (SSC). The present study employs the theory of consumption values and theory of planned behavior to predict audiences’ SSC intentions. The results indicate that emotional value, social value, altruistic value, attitude, internal perceived behavioral control and subjective norm are significant predictors of audiences’ intentions to share or to repost science content on their social media. These results suggest that the theory of consumption values, together with the theory of planned behavior, is a useful framework for understanding SSC behaviors.

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“…These variables afforded the opportunity to examine and compare the influence of traditional product promotion (message sidedness) and communication of scientific risk (hedging) in a DTC health product context. Previous research in this area analyzed social media content from 23andMe to understand how the popular DTC genetic testing company balances promotional and science content [8]. Still, scholars have called for more research examining communication strategies used in for-profit science communication [9] and there are opportunities to examine the processes and effects of how message strategies may influence consumers' perceptions and purchase intentions related to DTC genetic testing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How message appeals and prior product use influence information processing, risk perceptions, trust, attitudes, and genetic test purchase intentions

VanDyke

Lee²,

Abitbol³

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

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Within the direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic test industry, attracting customers can be difficult especially due to the highly sensitive nature of these products. How these tests are communicated to consumers may be one avenue in which companies can impact customer purchase intentions. A 2 (message sidedness: one-way vs. two-way refutational) x 2 (hedging: present vs. absent) between-subjects experiment was conducted to understand how message features and prior product use influence information processing, risk and trust perceptions, and attitude toward the genetic test, which in turn, may influence direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic test purchase intentions. Results demonstrated that having used a genetic test in the past predicted participants’ trust in the company, information processing, and risk judgments; however, among those who used a genetic test, viewing a message that included hedging tended to increase their trust in the message. Trust in the message and company, information processing, and risk judgments significantly predicted participants’ attitudes toward genetic testing, which in turn predicted their purchase intentions. The results suggest that in the context of DTC genetic test messaging, practitioners should strive to increase consumer trust in the message and the company and facilitate information processing, and they should work to diminish perceived risk. These results suggest opportunities for identifying other message features that may influence message and company trust, information processing, risk judgments, and attitudes related to DTC genetic testing.

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Science Communication Meets Consumer Relations: An Analysis of Twitter Use by 23andMe

Cited by 9 publications

References 32 publications

Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing on Social Media: Topic Modeling and Sentiment Analysis of YouTube Users' Comments

Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing on Social Media: Topic Modeling and Sentiment Analysis of YouTube Users' Comments

Motivation to participate in secondary science communication

How message appeals and prior product use influence information processing, risk perceptions, trust, attitudes, and genetic test purchase intentions

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