Curtis B, Ashford R, Magnuson K, Ryan-Pettes S. (2019). Comparison of smartphone ownership, social media use, and willingness to use digital interventions between Generation Z and Millennials in the treatment of substance use: Cross-sectional questionnaire study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 21(4): e13050. doi: 10.2196/13050
Researchers recruited Millennials (age 18-35 years) and Generation Zs (age 13-17 years) with problematic substance use (n = 164) to participate in a comparison of digital platforms used and receptivity towards using digital platforms to deliver substance use treatment and recovery support. Recruitment occurred through outpatient substance use treatment programs. Participants completed a paper-and-pencil survey on social media use, digital intervention acceptability, substance use, and exposure to drug cues (e.g., text, image, or video content related to illicit or licit substances) and recovery cues on social media. The vast majority of participants had at least one social media account (Millennials: 82%, Generation Zs: 94%), and most used social media daily (Millennials: 68%, Generation Zs: 79%). Generation Zs were more likely to use Instagram (83%) and Snapchat (79%), while Millennials preferred using Facebook (80%). Cannabis was the primary substance used among both groups (Millennials: 69%, Generation Zs: 98%). Most participants had seen drug cues on social media (Millennials: 68%, Generation Zs: 72%), but far fewer had observed recovery cues on social media (Millennials: 31%, Generation Zs: 34%). Participants believed that social media (Millennials: 55%, Generation Zs: 49%), mobile apps (Millennials: 37%, Generation Zs: 45%), texting (Millennials: 29%, Generation Zs: 45%), or a website (Millennials: 40%, Generation Zs: 32%) would be useful conduits for delivering recovery support. Given the prevalence of exposure to drug cues on social media, future research could explore disseminating treatment and recovery support within social media platforms, developing a cross-platform intervention capable of accommodating generational preferences for specific social media platforms.