Teens and young adults who see alcohol promotions in their social media feeds are more likely to drink and binge drink, according to a Rutgers Health review of 31 studies that tracked links between exposure to digital alcohol marketing and real-world alcohol use. Jon-Patrick Allem, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a senior author of the study, said the public debate about time spent on social media misses the most important point.
“There’s growing evidence that it’s not how long you spend on social media but what content you see that affects you,” Allem said. “Young people being exposed to alcohol promotions online is associated with alcohol use across different contexts and populations.” The meta-analysis in The Lancet Public Health pooled data from 62,703 people. Participants exposed to digital alcohol marketing content, compared with those not exposed, had greater odds of reporting past 30-day alcohol use, binge drinking and susceptibility to use alcohol among never users.
“Across this international sample, those who saw alcohol marketing online were about twice as likely to report drinking or binge drinking,” said Scott Donaldson, lead author and an assistant professor of general internal medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. To read the full story.