Digital Scholarship@UNLV

Submission Title

Does Twitter User Activity Promote Gambling-Related Content?

Session Title

Poster Session

Presenters

Marcos Lerma, University of MemphisFollow
Rory A. Pfund Ph.D, University of MemphisFollow
Adrianna J. Valencia, University of MemphisFollow
E. Halle Smith, University of MemphisFollow
James Whelan Ph.D, University of MemphisFollow

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Location

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

Start Date

24-5-2023 10:30 AM

End Date

24-5-2023 11:15 AM

Disciplines

Clinical Psychology | Psychology

Abstract

Social media has provided gambling operators with access to millions of individuals and novel ways to promote gambling. Research has suggested that exposure to gambling advertisements on social media platforms is associated with increased gambling in individuals at-risk for problem gambling. These findings bring into question whether social media platforms are sensitive to differences in user account activity (e.g., tweets, likes, accounts visited) when displaying advertisements and gambling-related content.

To assess for these differences, four Twitter accounts were created and assigned to send out tweets containing pro-wagering versus safe-wagering-related messages. Additionally, one of each account was assigned to interact with Twitter profiles associated with gambling operators or responsible gambling. Accounts were assessed daily for advertisement traffic and gambling-related content from January to March 2022. The study included three phases that implemented changes in privacy settings, websites visited, and gambling-related tweets observed. To assess for between-phase differences, Tau-U analyses were performed using R. No gambling advertisements were observed throughout the study. Nongambling advertisements remained constant across all accounts. Gambling-related content observed depended on assigned account activity. Accounts that interacted with gambling operators’ profiles were only displayed pro-wagering-related content. Conversely, accounts that interacted with responsible gambling profiles were only displayed safe-wagering-related content.

Findings suggest that Twitter is sensitive to differences in account activity. Social media platforms’ ethical obligations have been a topic of concern. However, it seems that the type of gambling-related content displayed on Twitter largely depends on the user’s activity, thus, placing responsibility for what is displayed on the user.

Keywords

Gambling, Responsible Gambling, Social Media, Twitter

Author Bios

Marcos Lerma, MA is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at The University of Memphis and a graduate assistant working at The Institute for Gambling Education and Research. His current research interests include assessing the intersectionality between gambling behaviors and social media.

Rory A. Pfund, PhD is a Research Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Clinic and Research Director of The Institute of Gambling Education and Research at the University of Memphis. Dr. Pfund’s research focuses on understanding the effects of psychological treatments for gambling disorder. He is currently the co-investigator on a grant from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to develop a web-based portal to facilitate the initiation of gambling disorder treatment.

Adrianna J. Valencia, BS is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at The University of Memphis and a graduate research assistant working in The Institute for Gambling Education and Research. Her current research interests focus on broad examinations of psychopathology, addiction, and gambling behaviors.

E. Halle Smith, BA is a master’s student in general psychology at the University of Memphis. She works as a project manager for the Institute for Intelligent systems; there, she coordinates projects funded federally by the Institute for Education Sciences. With the Institute for Gambling Education and Research, she studies gambling alongside variables like genders and sexualities.

James P. Whelan, PhD is a University of Memphis Professor of Psychology and Director of The Institute for Gambling Education and Research. He leads the Institute’s initiative to develop a research center response for all living in the U.S. state of Tennessee – a project funded by Tennessee’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. His research spans prevention, assessment, and treatment of gambling disorder.

Funding Sources

This project was funded by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. The funding source had no involvement in any aspects of the research, including the decision to submit the abstract.

Competing Interests

None