ArticleAJPM focus2025
Blasting Off Again: An Observational Study on Substance Use Content Exposure in Pokémon Twitch Streams.
Article in AJPM focus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: The Pokémon franchise has an array of media (i.e., TV series, movies, merchandise, and Trading Card Game) that has attracted global youth and adults since its creation in 1996. Specifically, users have been known to discuss, promote, and purchase Pokémon Trading Card Game on the livestreaming platform Twitch. However, Pokémon Trading Card Game livestreaming content may also include potentially harmful content for youth and adolescents, such as depictions of substance use. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess whether popular Twitch Pokémon Trading Card Game content and influencers promote substance use topics and behavior. Methods: This study was conducted in 3 phases: (1) data mining on 2 Twitch data aggregation websites (Sullygnome.com and TwitchTracker.com) within the Pokémon Trading Card Game category; (2) data filtering using keywords through a snowball sampling strategy on the title of a Twitch stream; and (3) content coding using the WHO protocol on Internet Monitoring of Marketing of Unhealthy Products to Children and Adolescents for influencer and microinfluencer substance use marketing, including depictions of substance use or promotion of products on the streamer's profile. The authors also conducted an assessment of any underage moderation for Twitch livestreams. Results: A total of 1,025 highly active Pokémon Trading Card Game streamers were recruited and analyzed. The use and promotion of substance use in the form of alcohol, cannabis, or tobacco was detected in 25.07% ( Conclusions: In this study, the authors detected Twitch streamers violating Twitch community guidelines that may have exposed millions of youths and young adults in the Pokémon Trading Card Game category to different depictions of substance use. Although Twitch prohibits monetary gain in exchange for posting substance use content, the apparent lack of enforcement of Twitch community guidelines and the absence of age verification means that youth who enjoy Pokémon Trading Card Game content may also be exposed to content actively promoting substance use behaviors.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.