Binge drinking is a serious and common problem for young people in Australia. Seventeen percent of Australians aged 16-17, 29 per cent aged 18-19, and 24 per cent aged 20-29 drink at levels which put them at risk of short term harms, at least monthly.
Alcohol companies have been quick to take advantage of social media and the accessibility these forums provide to social networks, and through which they have pursued more direct conversations with their audiences then ever before.
They have also provided users with the opportunity to generate their own advertisement for their alcohol brands, known as user-generated advertisement.
The impact of the promotion and depiction of alcohol brands into the everyday lives of consumers through various strategies on social media has however not been extensively studied, nor specifically in relation to the impact of this advertisement on young people and their risk taking behaviour.
This project explored young people’s opinions of alcohol advertising on social media, including user-generated advertisement and other strategies, to explore the attitude, perceptions and risks perceived among young people of this form of advertisement.
January 2015 – May 2015
The findings from our focus group discussions and online survey will aim to inform future alcohol-related advertising policies and health promotion initiatives within the forum of social media.
Project
Team
Meet the project team. Together, we are translating research into better health, for all.
