Using Social Media to Change Smoking Behavior: Line Instant Messaging Application Perspectives

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the influence of anti-smoking multimedia on smoking-cessation behavior with respect to attitude towards smoking, belief in subjective norms of smoking, perceived behavioral control of smoking, intentions to reduce smoking, and motivation for smoking cessation. The study is based on an experimental research. The experimental design consisted of three types of multimedia anti-smoking campaigns (text, text with pictures, and video), and three levels of human caring (environment, surrounding people, and themselves). A total of 90 graduate and undergraduate students participated in the experiment. The findings suggested that participants (1) have unfavorable attitudes towards smoking, (2) are indifferent to belief in subjective norms of smoking, and (3) possess greater perceived behavioral control of smoking after viewing the anti-smoking multimedia campaign for the three levels of human caring. Furthermore, the research found that perceived behavioral control of smoking indirectly influences smoking cessation behavior via intention to reduce smoking. Finally, motivation for smoking cessation directly affects smoking cessation behavior.