Using Social Media to Support Youth Movements In Grassroots Policy Change Efforts

Background: The emergence of social media and its popularity among youth can be successfully utilized to leverage health communication efforts. On average, youth ages 8-18 spend 7.5 hours a day engaged in social media. While the value of face-to-face time is irreplaceable, it needs to be supplemented with social media efforts to continue to motivate and engage youth.  Social media utilization is particularly beneficial in engaging youth members across a wide geographic area when physical distance makes it challenging to communicate with youth. Strategic youth engagement with social media ultimately saves program resources while simultaneously increases program impact.

Program background: Youth movements in Virginia, New Mexico, and Southern Nevada utilize a social media platform to engage youth in tobacco policy change efforts. To be members, youth need to first physically attend a 4-hour training on tobacco control and policy change campaigns. Each campaign is defined by a specific objective, goals, and Measures of Progress (MOPs) such as petitions, surveys, message cards, etc. to generate public support for policy change such as clean indoor air and tobacco excise taxes. The predetermined MOPs simplify youth engagement because all members strive to achieve as many MOPs as possible in their individual and/or group projects. The electronic versions of the MOP also allow youth to continue their advocacy efforts online by posting links on facebook, twitter, and other social media. Youth members plan and manage their youth advocacy project on social media. This structure allows for 2 full-time coordinators to work with 300-500 youth across one state to lead 200-300 projects per year. All projects are planned and implemented by youth in their communities. Youth sign up for projects online through the project management component of the social media platform, requests project materials, and consult Coordinators for logistical and strategic help.

Evaluation Methods and Results: Youth submit MOPs they achieve though on-the-ground projects to Coordinator via snail mail. They notify Coordinators online and complete an evaluation questionnaire. Youth in Virginia have collected over 35,000 MOPs in 22 months while NM has collected over 5,600 MOPs in 5 months. Over 12,000 MOPs were generated directly though social media efforts. Youth who go above and beyond become more involved in policy change by helping deliver MOPs to legislators, being interviewed for earned media, and meeting with decision makers. These efforts contributed to Virginia’s clean indoor act and are now working on the packaging/marketing of new tobacco products and a tobacco excise tax increase in Nevada.

Conclusions: The combination of social media, online volunteer management function and a strategy to integrate these technologies has streamlined youth engagement in policy change efforts. In addition, the presence of these policy change efforts in social media makes them a part of these youth’s culture.

Implications for research and/or practice: Social media utilization can significantly expand grassroots efforts as long as a clearly defined and simple advocacy structure is utilized. With youths’ busy lives, vast geographic regions, and limited resources, social media can increase program impact while reducing administrative costs.