INTRODUCTION
Social media is becoming an increasingly popular information source for patients seeking medical advice on dermatologic conditions.1,2 A popular platform is Reddit, an anonymous online forum with communities organized by different interests (subreddits). Medical dermatology subreddits are frequently used to request and disseminate information about dermatologic conditions, including advice tailored to Asian skin. Despite the rapidly growing Asian population, there is little research on dermatology social media trends among Asians. In this observational study, we describe the demographics and top skin concerns of Asians seeking dermatology advice on Reddit.
Subreddits were identified by searching for "Dermatology," excluding subreddits non-specific to dermatology or about dermatology training, specific conditions, and specific geographic areas. The top 5 subreddits were determined by the number of subscribers: r/SkincareAddiction (1.5 million), r/Skincare_Addiction (1.2 million), r/SkincareAddicts (763k), r/Dermatology (58.8k), r/DermatologyQuestions (22.6k). All posts from August 12, 2011, to November 19, 2022, were screened by searching for "Asian" in each subreddit, excluding posts that were duplicates, advertisements, and where the author did not identify as Asian. The number of posts per subreddit and year, author characteristics (age, gender, Asian subgroup), and post details (skin concern, purpose of post, associated image posted) were collected and analyzed.
Subreddits were identified by searching for "Dermatology," excluding subreddits non-specific to dermatology or about dermatology training, specific conditions, and specific geographic areas. The top 5 subreddits were determined by the number of subscribers: r/SkincareAddiction (1.5 million), r/Skincare_Addiction (1.2 million), r/SkincareAddicts (763k), r/Dermatology (58.8k), r/DermatologyQuestions (22.6k). All posts from August 12, 2011, to November 19, 2022, were screened by searching for "Asian" in each subreddit, excluding posts that were duplicates, advertisements, and where the author did not identify as Asian. The number of posts per subreddit and year, author characteristics (age, gender, Asian subgroup), and post details (skin concern, purpose of post, associated image posted) were collected and analyzed.
Two-hundred eighty (280) posts met the inclusion criteria (Table 1 and Figures 1-8). r/SkincareAddiction had the highest number of posts with 102 (36.43%). An upward trend in the number of posts was observed from 1 in 2012 (0.36%) to 130 in 2022 (46.43%). One hundred sixty-eight (168) posts (60%) identified age and most were between 18 to 25 years with 85 (50.60%). One hundred sixty-one (161) posts (57.5%) identified gender, with 82 (50.93%) males and 79 (49.07%) females. One hundred twenty-one (121) posts (43.21%) identified the Asian subgroup, with 70 (57.85%) South Asian, 24 (19.83%) Southeast Asian, 15 (12.4%) East Asian, and 12 (9.92%) mixed Asian. The top concerns of posts were hyper- and hypopigmentation in 74 (19.79%), acne in 50 (13.37%), and skincare routines in 41 (10.96%). The top purposes of posts (Table 2) were to seek treatment opinions in 184 (52.42%) and diagnosis in 77 (21.94%). 86 posts (30.71%) included a photo.
Asians are among a growing trend of individuals utilizing social media to seek dermatologic information. In this study, there was a recent surge over the past year (Figure 1) in Asians using dermatology subreddits to seek information about treatment and diagnosis, most commonly about dyspigmentation, acne, and skincare routines.
Social media provides opportunities to discuss skin concerns in an immediate, cost-free manner compared to the long
