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Alcohol marketing and user-generated alcohol content is common on social media, and most posts are positive and pro-alcohol. To reduce such exposure, policy changes may be useful, such as banning alcohol-related marketing on social media, as well as a browser plug-in to block alcohol imagery online.
Does social media use lead to poorer health among young people? This question has become extremely topical, and the focus of a recent parliamentary select committee in Australia.
Many argue that the decline in young people’s mental health is linked to the amount of time that they are spending on social media, but the evidence is mixed and inconsistent. With a lack of clear findings, it can be difficult to know how to better protect young people’s health in relation to social media.
One idea on how to address the impact of social media use on health could be to limit exposure to unhealthy behaviours, like alcohol use, among young people (particularly those who are not allowed to purchase alcohol).
Alcohol is an ongoing national and international public health concern, associated with both short and long term health problems, such as unintentional injuries, cancer and liver disease. In Australia, the avoidable costs of alcohol estimated in 2017–18 were over $65 billion. In our evidence review, we have found that alcohol is highly prevalent on a range of social media platforms, including both advertising and user-generated content (eg, social media users post/comment about alcohol brands, or alcohol/drinking in general). It isn’t just that alcohol is common, the main concern is that alcohol-related content on social media is overwhelmingly pro-alcohol.
For example, research shows that most alcohol-related posts on social media, including up to 75% of posts on Facebook, and around 54–79% of tweets, promoted drinking in a positive context (eg, showing the rewarding nature of it). This was confirmed by a recent systematic review, finding that 92% of alcohol-related posts were positive. Our work on Twitter also found that posts about alcohol-related consequences were common and more likely to be positive.
Evidence suggests that exposure to alcohol on social media is associated with drinking behaviours. A recent review found that exposure to alcohol content is associated with greater current and future alcohol consumption among youth and young adults. In our qualitative research, Australian adults aiming to reduce their drinking reported that exposure to online alcohol depictions was also related to increased craving and temptation to drink, and an increased intent to purchase alcohol.
Underage audiences are also subjected to alcohol marketing on social media. A sample of nearly 20% of underage participants reported that they regularly saw alcohol advertisements on social media. One study found that for the young Australians (aged 17–24) who were exposed to alcohol advertisements on Facebook or Instagram, an advertisement occurred on average every 2 minutes and 43 seconds.
Participants in our research have called for increased legislation and regulation of alcohol marketing and exposure online. One policy option for the Australian parliamentary inquiry to consider is to ban alcohol-related marketing on social media, similar to smoking and tobacco laws in Australia.
Unfortunately, policy change can be slow and a ban on all alcohol marketing on social media would still leave a lot of user-generated social media posts that include alcohol, which is extremely difficult to regulate. This is important, as one review showed that it was user-generated posts that were most likely responsible for spreading substance use content on social media. User-generated content may also be more likely to influence beliefs and behaviours about substance use, particularly when you are seeing a friend’s alcohol posts.
Newer technologies may provide some solutions, and in our research, we propose that a browser plug-in that users have to install as an add-on to an existing browser, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, may be a viable solution. Similar to existing ones blocking sexual content when browsing online, such a browser plug-in could block or blur all depictions of alcohol online, including user-generated content and alcohol marketing.
In a sample of Australian adults trying to reduce their drinking, we found that a browser plug-in was highly supported and accepted, especially for blocking positive portrayals of alcohol, social media posts featuring alcohol and alcohol advertising.
Policy changes and the browser plug-in are future tools, but there are some things that can be done right now to reduce the amount of alcohol exposure you see, particularly for alcohol marketing:
- install an ad blocker as a browser plug-in; or
- change your settings in Google or other social media sites to reduce and limit alcohol advertisements.
Given how widespread alcohol is on social media, it is important to better protect people, and especially young people, from the harmful effects alcohol marketing can have in terms of instigating alcohol consumption.
Maree Patsouras is a PhD candidate and research officer at the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR), La Trobe University. Her research interests include digital and media alcohol exposure, emerging technologies and women’s alcohol use.
Emmanuel Kuntsche is the Director of CAPR and a Professor of Public Health at La Trobe University Melbourne. He is an expert in the intergenerational transmission of alcohol-related cognition from early childhood into adolescence.
Ben Riordan is an ARC DECRA research fellow at CAPR, La Trobe University. He leads CAPR’s research stream on alcohol, media and emerging technology.
The statements or opinions expressed in this article reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy of the AMA, the MJA or InSight+ unless so stated.
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