Alcohol References on Facebook May Encourage College Drinking
A new study has found an association between Facebook and alcohol-college-aged males who mention alcohol on the social networking site tend to have more Facebook friends. The recent study, to be published in the American Journal of Men’s Health, found that 85 percent of the profiles of male undergraduates contained at least one reference to alcohol.
In 2009, Katie Egan and Megan Moreno, then undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin, examined the Facebook profiles of 225 male undergraduates with an average age of 19 (below the legal age limit for alcohol). The average number of alcohol references per profile was 8.5, but increased with the undergraduate year (students aged 21 and over referenced alcohol about 4.5 times more than underage students). An increase in the number of Facebook friends was also associated with an increase in alcohol references.
The researchers note that Facebook is widely used among college students, and that references to alcohol may influence social norms, causing an increase in male college students’ alcohol consumption. Egan said that because college drinking is a predictor of social acceptance, there could be a similar correlation in the social networking world with regard to alcoholic references. In other words, Facebook posts about alcohol could influence college students to drink more.
The researchers also cite a 2002 study that showed that the strongest influence of alcohol consumption rates among college students in perceived peer use, which often exceeds actual peer use (people believe their peers are drinking more than they actually are). Another study suggests that media may exceed traditional peer influences for social norms.
Source: American Journal of Men’s Health, Katie G. Egan, Megan A. Moreno, Alcohol References on Undergraduate Males’ Facebook Profiles, March 15, 2011
