Teenager Substance Use on Reddit: Mixed Methods Computational Analysis of Frames and Emotions

Abstract

Background: Adolescent substance use disorder is a pressing public health issue, with increasing prevalence as individuals age. Social media platforms like Reddit (Reddit Inc) serve as significant venues for teenagers to discuss and navigate substance use. Social media platforms, such as Reddit, serve as increasingly important spaces where teenagers discuss, share, and navigate their experiences with substance use, presenting unique opportunities and challenges for understanding and addressing this issue. Objective: This study aims to explore how teenagers frame substance-use discussions on the r/teenagers subreddit, focusing on their personal interpretations, causal attributions, and the social and psychological contexts that shape these online support groups. By identifying these interpretive frames, we aimed to better understand the complex drivers of adolescent substance use behavior and their potential interventions. Methods: Using natural language processing techniques, we analyzed 32,674 substance use–related posts from 2018 to 2022. A framing approach was used to identify and categorize prevalent themes, supplemented by emotional profiling using the EmoLLaMA-chat-13B model developed by Liu and colleagues. Results: In total, 7 primary frames emerged: normalization, risk awareness, social integration, autonomy and rebellion, coping mechanisms, media influence, and stigmatization. These frames varied in prevalence and were associated with distinct emotional profiles, highlighting the complex interplay between substance use and adolescent experiences. We observed that, for example, the normalization frame was often associated with a mix of sadness and anxiety, while the coping frame exhibited elevated levels of anger, sadness, and anxiety. These distinctive emotional landscapes associated with each frame reveal unique insights into the mental state of adolescents navigating substance use. Conclusions: The findings underscore the multifaceted nature of adolescent substance-use discussions on social media. Interventions must address underlying emotional and social factors as well as identity to effectively mitigate substance use disorder among adolescents. By understanding the frames teenagers use to interpret substance use, we can pave the way for more effective and personalized public health campaigns, and support services designed to resonate with adolescents’ unique lived experiences.