The role of virtual socializing and unstructured socializing in adolescent vaping

Emerging research suggests that adolescent patterns of socializing have shifted in recent years towards more virtual socializing and less traditional in-person socializing. At present, limited research has explored how this shift in socializing may influence outcomes traditionally linked with in-person socializing among adolescents (i.e., substance use). This paper addresses this gap in the literature by utilizing logistic regression techniques to examine the relationship between virtual socializing and an emerging form adolescent substance use (i.e., vaping) using data from the 2018 Monitoring the Future (MTF) cohort. Our findings reveal that time spent socializing in the virtual sphere is significantly associated with a greater likelihood of vaping nicotine, marijuana, and flavor. In addition, our findings reveal that while the relationship between virtual socializing and vaping is attenuated by unstructured socializing (i.e., unsupervised socializing or “hanging out”) in person to some degree, time spent socializing virtually is still a significant predictor of adolescent vaping activity even after taking time spent socializing in person into account. In conclusion, our findings indicate that virtual socializing is an important predictor of adolescent vaping activity. The implications of these findings for policy are discussed. •Previous research links in-person socialization among adolescents with substance use.•Limited research explores the relationship between virtual socializing and substance use.•This study examines connections between virtual socializing and vaping.•Virtual socializing is linked with nicotine, marijuana, and flavor-only vaping.