Social Data Collaboratory @ NORC

Firearm violence victimization among youth and young adults: A socio-ecological analysis of risk and protective factors To examine individual, interpersonal, community/societal, and policy-level risk and protective factors associated with firearm violence victimization …

New study in Preventive Medicine on firearm violence victimization among youth/young adults led by @norc.org's Bruce Taylor with collaborators E. Mumford, W. Liu, J. Sheridan-Johnson, C. Lancaster, SDC’s C. Carter & K. Mitchell (UofNH). www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#ViolencePrevention

Time for a real-world data puzzle. 🧩

This brand's online sentiment took a nosedive, as you can see in the chart. What was the primary cause of the chaos?

HINT: Zooming in on the search terms is very helpful. 😉

#DataPuzzle #DataViz #SocialListening #DataAnalytics

Final insight for community managers: A small group of "super-users" (just 4.55% of chatters) can have a massive impact, driving nearly a quarter of all chat messages!

Kudos to the SDC's Alex Kresovich & Simon Page for leading this analysis! #DataScience

Finding #2: Content format is everything. 📺

In-Real-Life (IRL) streams sparked the most STEM talk (21.65%) - far more than gaming streams. Also, streams with lots of peer support were over 3 times more likely to have a super-active chat.

Finding #1: Your community leads the learning. 🧑‍🏫

Regular viewers drove MORE STEM discussion than the official team members (16.9% vs 11.3%). True engagement isn't top-down; it's peer-to-peer.

#OnlineLearning

How do you build an active science-learning community on Twitch? We partnered with NOVA PBS as part of a larger Slover Linett at @norc.org study to analyze their "Building Stuff" channel and find the secrets to engagement.

The answers aren't what you might think. 🧵

#SciComm #STEM #Twitch

How did we find this? By pioneering an ethical data donation method to reveal what people see online. This shows how ad targeting may exacerbate difference in health outcomes. Lead author: Yoonsang Kim. #HealthEquity #DataScience (4/4)

But on Instagram, the story changes. There, Black users faced the highest food & beverage ad exposure (25%), while Hispanic users saw less exposure (10%) than White users (16%). (3/4)

On Facebook, the differences were sharp. Hispanic users were exposed to food & beverage ads at more than double the rate of White users (33% vs 15%). The rate for Black users was 22%. (2/4)

Our "digital diets" are shaped by ad targeting, and new @norc.org research found Black & Hispanic users see more food & beverage ads online - but it depends on which app they're using.

Presenting our findings at #NCHCMM2025. 🧵 (1/4)

🎶 What's your go-to productivity hack?

“Music and coffee! I also try to stop working when things are still interesting, so I’m naturally pulled back in the next day to keep the momentum going.”

🍜 What's a fun fact about you?

“I was born in Sichuan, a region in China known for its bold, spicy flavors. If I ever switched careers, I’d probably open a noodle shop. Making noodles with chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn is something I genuinely love.”

💡 What's a current challenge you're excited to tackle?

"Through my NCI-funded project, I’m analyzing a decade of e-cigarette prevention campaigns across X and TikTok. The challenge is making sense of the patterns to better understand what campaign resilience looks like in today’s environment."

💬 What’s your favorite part of working in the SDC?

“I’ve been with the SDC since 2014, and what continues to inspire me is how we approach research: with rigor, creativity, and a willingness to evolve. We work across disciplines and methods, which keeps the work dynamic and deeply rewarding.”

How do health campaigns cut through online misinformation?

Meet @fengmiao.bsky.social, a senior research scientist at our Social Data Collaboratory and an expert in finding that answer.

We sat down with Miao for a Q&A. Read on in the thread! 👇
#MeetTheSDC #DataScience #PublicHealth #SciComm

#Fireworks or #hotdogs for the 4th? 🎆🌭

Our social data shows fireworks dominate the chatter, but the sentiment is surprisingly negative (think pet safety!). Hot dog talk, however, leans positive.

A fun peek at how SDC at @norc.org analyzes public opinion.

Wishing you a safe and happy 4th!

Using Innovative Machine Learning to Detect Support and Opposition to E-Cigarette Use Prevention Messaging on Twitter and TikTok | NORC at the University of Chicago First study to examine the content, sources, and patterns of diffusion of E-cigarette prevention campaigns

A current SDC project studies hidden patterns of support and opposition to tobacco prevention messaging online. Using sophisticated machine learning, we have analyzed thousands of posts for coordination in opposition, misinformation, and marketing.

Check out more: tinyurl.com/3jzzevrx

SDC was at #ICA2025! Our presentation explores how platform-specific dynamics shape resistance to anti-vaping campaigns, with Twitter enabling coordinated and discoursive resistance while TikTok favors decentralized, affective parody.

Check out the presentation on LinkedIn: tinyurl.com/3zvmam6c

The Influence of Provaping “Gatewatchers” on the Dissemination of COVID-19 Misinformation on Twitter: Analysis of Twitter Discourse Regarding Nicotine and the COVID-19 Pandemic Background: There is a lot of misinformation about a potential protective role of nicotine against COVID-19 spread on Twitter despite significant evidence to the contrary. We need to examine the role ...

We recently worked with Truth Initiative to explore the spread of medical disinfo on Twitter. The results: 23% of top retweeted URLs covered the claim that tobacco use mitigates COVID, with vape advocates often acting as “gatewatchers” spreading false claims.

View more: tinyurl.com/2e7xvwpm

Youth and Young Adult Blunt Use Predicts Progression to Other Nicotine Product Use in the United States Little cigars or cigarillos (LCCs) are frequently modified to smoke cannabis (“blunts”) by youth and young adults. This study investigated whether young blunt users who are otherwise nicotine-naïve ar...

As more U.S. states legalize cannabis, two of our SDC team members recently teamed up with the Truth Foundation to study how cannabis and tobacco use are connected. They found a strong link between youth cannabis use and later nicotine initiation.

Learn more: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

🚭 At #WAPOR2025, Simon Page shared SDC research on how youth e-cigarette campaigns face social media backlash. 99% opposition on X, 15% on TikTok—yet evidence-based posts had 92% more reach.

#EciagrettePrevention #YouthHealth #DigitalPublicHealth

🎬 At #WAPOR2025, Nada Adibah shared new findings from NORC + Truth Initiative: tobacco in films still influences youth—especially via streaming. 35% of top 2022 films had tobacco; exposure linked to use and intent.

#TobaccoControl #YouthHealth #PublicHealth #StreamingMedia

80th Annual AAPOR Conference | NORC at the University of Chicago The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) holds its 80th Annual Conference on May 14-16, 2025, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Of course, there is a ton more @norc.org work being presented including from @sdc.norc.org and @apnorc.bsky.social.

Check out the full NORC roster ⬇️. We'll see you there!
www.norc.org/events/2025-...

SDC is headed to #WAPOR2025!

Nada Adibah shares how tobacco in films (theater + streaming) affects youth use. Simon Page presents on e-cigarette prevention campaigns on social media.

Going to WAPOR? Say hi or DM us!

#TobaccoControl #YouthHealth #SocialData #WAPOR #MediaEffects #PublicHealth

Interesting 🧵about new NORC research on the challenges public health campaigns face on social media.

Tweeted, Trolled, Twisted: Battling for Narrative Control in E-Cigarette Use Prevention Campaigns (2014–2020) This study identifies and analyzes X (formerly Twitter) posts related to 14 e-cigarette use prevention campaigns from 2014 to 2020, assessing message volume, content, sources, potential reach and e...

This work shows how social media shapes—not just hosts—public health campaigns.

If you work in health comms, media strategy, or youth engagement, we’d love to connect or collaborate.

Full study: doi.org/10.1080/1081...
#PublicHealth #HealthComm

Some local campaigns were almost entirely overtaken—over 99% of related tweets pushed back.

But here’s the twist: prevention posts had nearly 2x the potential reach.

Digital engagement isn’t just noisy—it’s strategic, and still winnable.

🚨 New from our team at NORC’s Social Data Collaboratory:
“Tweeted, Trolled, Twisted” just published in Journal of Health Communication.

We analyzed 620K tweets tied to 14 youth e-cigarette prevention campaigns.
43% of posts? Opposition.

New in 𝗧𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 w/my @sdc.norc.org colleagues @kostygina.bsky.social, Chandler Carter, @andarist.bsky.social, and @sherryemery.bsky.social: on political appeals in nicotine pouch ads.

(Which, as "Torches of Freedom", reminds us, is not new).

PDF version:
soubhikbarari.com/writings/tuc...

🎉 @norc.org's SDC team recognized among top 10 social media marketing researchers!

Dr. @sherryemery.bsky.social (3rd), Dr. Kim (8th), and Dr. @kostygina.bsky.social (9th) honored for their substantial contributions to the field. #ResearchExcellence

Full analysis: link.springer.com/article/10.1...