Impact of Social Media Content and the Take Control Philly Condom Mailing Program from 2014-2015

Background: In 2010, rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea among teenagers 15-19 years old living in Philadelphia were significantly higher than the national rate for the same age group (3 and 3.5 times respectively). In response to the epidemic, the Philadelphia Health Department launched an adolescent health program to address high rates of STDs.

Program background: Take Control Philly is a social media campaign launched in 2011 that not only provides condoms to any teenager who requests them, but normalizes condom use and tries to create an environment where teens can talk openly about sexual health. Over 285,000 condoms (10 condoms in each packet) have been distributed to teens in Philadelphia since the program's inception.

Evaluation Methods and Results: By using Facebook metrics and Microsoft Access software, the number of condom packets (12,937) mailed from the beginning of 2014 to the end of 2015 has been compared to the number of Facebook posts (100 posts in 2014 and 109 posts in 2015). The months that demonstrated significant increases in condom mailings were compared to the content of social media posts.

Conclusions: In June-July 2014, August-September 2014 and November 2014-December 2014 there were dramatic increases in condom mailings (23.2%, 96.7% and 22% respectively) as compared to previous months in the same year. In 2015, July-Aug and November-December saw the biggest condom increases at 10% each month. Posts during these increases had common themes. Not only were posts more provocative and “meme-centered,” but these posts also had strong pop-culture references. 

Implications for research and/or practice: The project demonstrates the effectiveness of social media content to drive condom mailings to teens in Philadelphia. Messages that focused on humorous pop-culture references and used provocative emotional appeals demonstrated the greatest increase in mailings. Without using targeted advertisements, Take Control Philly should continue tailoring messages in this way to appeal to adolescents. Doing so will help maintain an increased number of condom mailings.