Alcohol, Advertising, Media, and Consumption among Children, Teenagers, and Young Adults

Abstract

While much research on the roles of mediated communication in relation to alcohol consumption, drinking practices and alcohol-related issues has traditionally focused on alcohol advertising and related types of alcohol promotion, recent decades have witnessed a growing recognition that research attention needs to be given to the wider media and symbolic environment, through which norms and values associated with the use and abuse of alcohol are communicated. We start by reviewing the growing body of research which has examined the extent, distribution across media and genres, and the content of media messages about alcohol and drinking in advertising and entertainment media content. We then proceed to review the research evidence on