Student Spotlight – Miah Chao

Meet UCLA undergraduate researcher Miah Chao!

Miah Chao is majoring in Public Health and is part of the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Her research project is “Youth-Appealing Features in California Cannabis Advertisements: A Cross-Media Analysis of Instagram, Facebook, and Traditional Outlets.”

How did you first get interested in your research project?

In my freshman year of high school, I became heavily involved in tobacco control advocacy after witnessing how addiction affected my family. Throughout this journey, I learned about the decades-long history of predatory marketing tactics used by Big Tobacco (and many other industries) to target vulnerable communities, including young people, and how this interacts with the social and structural determinants of health. As the sale of recreational cannabis expanded, I began to recognize similar marketing strategies in my community. Considering California has relatively unclear regulations surrounding youth-appealing cannabis marketing, I grew curious: What specific features of these advertisements appeal to young audiences? How do messaging strategies differ across platforms? And what might this mean for policy and prevention efforts? These questions have led to my current research examining youth-appealing marketing strategies across digital and traditional media, bridging marketing, psychology, and public health.

What has been the most exciting aspect of your research so far?

Examining the advertisements themselves and realizing the range of messaging represented. The cannabis industry, by far, does not take a “one-size fits all” approach and has vast diversity in messaging strategies, ranging from emphasizing the health and wellness aspects of cannabis to tying it to enticing flavors, pops of color, and even fantasy football. It has been interesting to try to break these strategies down and see patterns emerge!

What has surprised you about your research or the research process?

When beginning my platform comparison analyses, I was originally expecting Instagram to have the highest prevalence of youth-appealing features, given its popularity with young people. However, early-stage results showed that Facebook actually had the highest prevalence, more frequently using rewarding appeals and risky content related to addiction.

What is one piece of advice you have for other UCLA students thinking about doing research?

Find a mentor at UCLA that can champion your work! I went into UCLA with an ultra-specific topic that I was interested in, but I was still able to find incredible mentors here. Not only were they interested in the same topics, but they also were willing to train me so I could build appropriate skillsets, connect me with opportunities to share and elevate my work, and enable me to transform my questions into formalized research. Do some digging online, leverage any connections you may have, and don’t be afraid to reach out!

What effect do you hope your research has in your field, at UCLA, in your community, or in the world?

I would love for my research to inform reasonable, evidence-based marketing regulations for the cannabis industry, especially in digital spaces that go largely unregulated. By studying the messaging strategies used by various industries, we can design more appropriate prevention campaigns catered to younger, vulnerable populations. I also hope my work spreads the message of the importance of learning from past mistakes of other industries, like the tobacco industry, and using public health policy to tackle upstream factors connected to health problems.