Perceived Benefits as a Mediator of Social Media’s Influence on E-cigarette Intentions Among Current Nonusers in Taiwanese College Students

E-cigarette use is increasingly prevalent among college students, largely due to exposure to e-cigarette-related content on social media platforms. Previous research has shown a positive association between college students’ perceived benefits of e-cigarette and their intentions to use them. This study examines whether the perceived benefits of e-cigarettes mediate the relationship between social media engagement and e-cigarette use intentions among Taiwanese college students who are current non-users. A cross-sectional design and convenience sampling was adopted. A total of 1,519 Taiwanese college students who had not used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days completed an online survey. Data were collected on the perceived benefits, social media engagement (specifically browsing, searching, and sharing e-cigarette-related content), e-cigarette use intentions, and sociodemographic variables. Descriptive statistics, independent-sample t -tests, chi-squared tests, and mediation analyses were conducted to analyze the data. Approximately 13% of participants reported an intention to use e-cigarettes. Compared with non-intenders, those with intentions to use e-cigarettes were more likely to actively search for and share related content and reported higher perceived benefits. Mediation analysis indicated that perceived benefits significantly mediated the association between sharing behavior and use intentions, but not between browsing or searching behaviors. Only searching behavior was directly associated with use intentions. Active forms of social media engagement, especially sharing, may increase e-cigarette use intentions by enhancing the perceived benefits of use. Health education efforts should include strategies to counter the influence of peer-endorsed and user-generated content on social media platforms.