A qualitative analysis of adolescents' perspectives on peer and influencer alcohol‐related posts on social media

Corcoran, Erin; Doucette, Hannah; Merrill, Jennifer E.; Pielech, Melissa; López, Gabriela Correa; Egbert, Amy H.; Nelapati, Shimei; Gabrielli, Joy; Colby, Suzanne M.; Jackson, Kristina M.

doi:10.1111/dar.13720

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…In this special section, a range of research methods (e.g., focus groups, social media data collection), populations (e.g., adolescents) and social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, TikTok) were studied to dig deeper into how "positive" posts about substances may be. For example, Corcoran et al's [4] focus group study aligned with prior work and found that adolescents reported that alcohol-related posts on social media convey drinking as acceptable, normal and cool [4]. Similarly, Lim et al's [5] content analysis of medicinal-cannabis-related tweets showed that tweets touting the therapeutic value of cannabis are twice as common as those referencing intoxication and withdrawal.…”

Section: What Do People See?mentioning

confidence: 77%

How is substance use portrayed in digital media and what impacts can it have?

Riordan,

Scarf,

Merrill

et al. 2023

Drug and Alcohol Review

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In 2021, Facebook Inc. changed its name to Meta. At first glance, the updated name simply reflected that the company had grown to own not just the Facebook platform, but also Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp and a desire to branch out and include virtual reality [1]. The term "meta," however, has a deeper meaning. Meta is short for metaverse, a word coined by Neal Stephenson in his dystopian novel Snow Crash. The metaverse is a hypothetical future state where people "live" in a virtual world. It is a common trope in film and literature, including popular films like The Matrix and Ready Player One. Although a virtual-reality-based future appears unlikely, people do spend a considerable portion of their wakeful hours consuming digital media (e.g., social media, watching films, listening to music) [2]. One might wonder what people spend all their time looking at and whether it matters. In the context of substance use, the 12 papers in this special section aim to address both of these important questions.

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Section: What Do People See?mentioning

confidence: 77%

How is substance use portrayed in digital media and what impacts can it have?

Riordan,

Scarf,

Merrill

et al. 2023

Drug and Alcohol Review

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“…This study also suggests that we may be seeing similar patterns of engagement with SMI marketing across a range of harmful industries. For example, alcohol researchers have argued that while young people may feel a personal connection to SMIs, the lack of offline relationship with the SMI may make it difficult for young people to critically evaluate SMI content for realism and authenticity ( Corcoran et al ., 2023 ). Developing integrated approaches to research and policy which consider and examine how these strategies may be used and applied across a range of industries will be important in progressing comprehensive policy frameworks which focus on harmful marketing tactics as well as responses to specific industries or products.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Celebrity marketing of harmful products has included the use of SMIs on platforms popular with young people such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram ( Chwasta, 2022 ; Lee et al ., 2023 ; Vassey et al ., 2023 ). These types of marketing are persuasive for young people, and may influence the normalization and consumption of these products ( Hendriks et al ., 2020 ; Packer et al ., 2022 ; Corcoran et al ., 2023 ; Smith and Hilton, 2023 ), as well as promoting new products, and reaching young people who otherwise would not be exposed to these promotions ( Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2023 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young people’s views about the use of celebrities and social media influencers in gambling marketing

Pitt,

McCarthy,

Randle

et al. 2024

Health Promotion International

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Young people’s exposure to gambling marketing has had a clear impact on their gambling attitudes, risk perceptions and consumption intentions. Celebrities and social media influencers (SMIs) are increasingly used by the gambling industry in a wide range of promotions. While there is evidence that these types of promotions are influential in shaping young people’s attitudes towards other harmful products, there is limited evidence in relation to gambling. Qualitative focus groups (n = 22) with n = 64, 12–17 year olds were conducted in Australia. These investigated young people’s exposure to celebrity and SMI marketing for gambling and the influence they perceived this marketing had on young people’s gambling attitudes. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to construct four themes from the data. First, young people perceived that celebrities and SMIs created additional appeal and recall of gambling advertisements because they were attention grabbing and familiar. Second, young people thought that celebrities and SMIs increased the trust, legitimacy and social acceptance of gambling. Third, the use of celebrities and SMIs lowered the perceptions of risk associated with gambling. Lastly, there were suggestions to reduce the impact of celebrity and SMI gambling promotions on young people, such as bans and restrictions. This study highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to preventing young people’s exposure to gambling marketing, that not only considers imposing stronger regulations to restrict the way the gambling industry is allowed to promote its products, but also aims to counter the novel ways the gambling industry attempts to appeal to children and young people.

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