YouTubers and miracle diets: the dissemination of health content between 2020 and 2021

Authors

  • Barbara Castillo Abdul Hadi Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
  • David Blanco-Herrero Universidad de Salamanca.
  • Clara Muela-Molina Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2022-1743

Keywords:

youtubers, health communication, food disorders, miracle diets, detox diets, content analysis

Abstract

Introduction: This research focuses on the possible influence of little-studied factors in the interaction aroused by YouTube videos on miracle diets, given the potential public health risk that the advice they offer may pose, especially for the young population. Methodology: The 50 most viewed videos on miracle diets posted between January 2020 and June 2021 in Spanish and English were analyzed. Through a quantitative content analysis, the influence of variables related to the relationship with the audience and the presence on camera, the expression of emotions and the description and analysis of the diet or product on the interaction and consumption of the video was studied. Results: The studied factors have hardly any effect, nor did the language of the video, on the numbers of views, comments, likes, dislikes and shares. Discussion: The above is interpreted as a sign of uncritical and thoughtless consumption, which could pose risks if the audience follows diets or consumes products that may pose a health risk. Conclusions: The work aspired to open new ways of analyzing health content on YouTube, focusing on characteristics of the videos less studied in the previous literature. Despite the few effects observed, there is a need to continue addressing factors such as the emotions transmitted, the type of information used or the attitude towards the products or diets treated.

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Author Biographies

Barbara Castillo Abdul Hadi, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.

ESAI Business School, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Ecuador.

Predoctoral Researcher of the Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and Visiting Professor of the ESAI Business School, Universidad Espíritu Santo in Guayaquil. Student of the Interuniversity Doctoral Program in Communication of the Universities of Seville, Malaga, Huelva, and Cádiz and the Program in Social and Legal Sciences of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. She has a Master’s Degree in Communication and Audiovisual Education from the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía and the Universidad de Huelva. She is associate editor of the Revista Index.Comunicación and Coordinator of the Visibility Council and Social Networks of Revista Comunicar. She is a member of the Ágora research group of the Universidad de Huelva, the Alfamed Network, and international scientific associations such as ECREA and IAMCR. barbara.castillo@urjc.es

Índice H: 7

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3711-1519

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?hl=es&user=E74B2F0AAAAJ

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Barbara-Castillo-Abdul

Scopus ID: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57219174678

Academia.edu: https://urjc.academia.edu/B%C3%A1rbaraCastilloAbdul

David Blanco-Herrero, Universidad de Salamanca.

Universidad de Salamanca.

He is a doctoral student at the Universidad de Salamanca. He has a degree in Journalism (Universidad a Distancia de Madrid, 2016) and Business Administration (Universidad de León, 2014) and a master's degree in Audiovisual Communication (Universidad de Salamanca, 2018). He is a member of the Audiovisual Content Observatory and has an FPU grant from the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities. His main lines of research are journalistic ethics, disinformation, and hate speech. He is an editorial assistant in the Electronic Yearbook of Studies in Social Communication "Disertaciones". david.blanco.herrero@usal.es

Índice H: 6

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7414-2998

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?hl=es&user=rVgTEUwAAAAJ

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Blanco-Herrero

Scopus ID: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57211948447

 

Clara Muela-Molina, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.

Clara Muela-Molina is a Professor of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising and Professor of Advertising at the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Her preferred lines of interest are advertising regulation and self-regulation, health communication, the role of the mass media in health promotion, and the social responsibility of advertisers, the media, and personalities who collaborate in the advertising of health-related products. She has participated in several competitive projects related to the commercial communication of health-related products. Since 2009, she has been a member of GRER (Groupe de Recherches et d'études sur la Radio), an international group specialized in radio based in France and attached to the Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux III.

clara.muela@urjc.es

Índice H:14

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1344-8731

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?hl=es&user=1og7TbUAAAAJ

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Clara-Muela-Molina   

Scopus ID: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55356512800  

Academia.edu: https://urjc.academia.edu/ClaraMuela

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Published

2022-08-03

How to Cite

Castillo Abdul Hadi, B., Blanco-Herrero, D., & Muela-Molina, C. (2022). YouTubers and miracle diets: the dissemination of health content between 2020 and 2021. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, (80), 475–494. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2022-1743

Issue

Section

Miscellaneous