Evaluating College Students' Displayed Alcohol References on Facebook and Twitter

Abstract

Purpose Current trends suggest adolescents and young adults typically maintain a social media “portfolio” of several sites including Facebook and Twitter, but little is known regarding how an individual chooses to display risk behaviors across these different sites. The purpose of this study was to investigate college students’ displayed alcohol references on both Facebook and Twitter. Methods Among a larger sample of college students from two universities, we identified participants who maintained both Facebook and Twitter profiles. Data collection included evaluation of 5 months of participants’ Facebook and Twitter posts for alcohol references, number of social connections (i.e. friends or followers) and number of posts. Phone interviews assessed participants’ frequency of Facebook and Twitter use and self-reported alcohol use. Analyses included Fisher’s exact test, Wilcoxon matched pair sign test, Freidman rank-sum tests and logistic regression. Results Of 112 eligible participants, 94 (RR=84.8%) completed the study. Participants were more likely to display alcohol references on Facebook compared to Twitter (76% versus 34%, p=0.02). Participants reported more social connections on Facebook versus Twitter (average 801.2 friends versus 189.4 followers, p<0.001), and were more likely to report daily use of Facebook versus Twitter (94.6% versus 50%, p<0.001). Current alcohol use was predictive of both Facebook and Twitter displayed alcohol references, but mediators differed in each model. Discussion College students were more likely to display alcohol references on Facebook compared to Twitter. Understanding these patterns and predictors may inform prevention and intervention efforts directed at particular social media sites.

“Can't Wait to Blackout Tonight”: An Analysis of the Motives to Drink to Blackout Expressed on Twitter

“…Given the public nature of these Tweets, it is important to note that they may serve to normalize blacking out as a consequence of drinking (or as the aim of a drinking). There is a substantial body of literature highlighting that individuals (particularly young adults) drink according to their perception of others’ drinking (Borsari and Carey, ) and a number of studies have highlighted that exposure to or engagement with alcohol‐related content on social networking sites may influence behavior (Boyle et al., ; Curtis et al., 2018a,b; Moreno et al., ; Steers et al., ). Thus, exposure to preblackout drinking Tweets may affect an individual's perception of blacking out as a normal consequence of drinking.…”

“…Despite the public nature of social networking websites, they are a common outlet for individuals to discuss substance use (Boyle et al., ; Egan and Moreno, ; Griffiths and Casswell, ; Moreno et al., ). For example, a study of 11,236 university students found that 97% used social networking websites and that 71% of these students reported posting alcohol‐related content (Erevik et al., ).…”

“…Exposure to and engagement with alcohol‐related social networking content may be linked to alcohol use. Indeed, research suggested that there is a relationship between engaging in alcohol‐related social networking content and alcohol use (Boyle et al., ; Moreno et al., ; Steers et al., ) and a recent metaanalysis suggested that the relationship is moderately strong (Curtis et al., 2018a,b).…”

140 Characters of Intoxication: Exploring the Prevalence of Alcohol-Related Tweets and Predicting Their Virality

“…They found that, compared with nondisplayers and alcohol displayers (who posted about alcohol but not about getting drunk), those who displayed intoxication or problematic drinking on their Facebook scored higher on the AUD identification test (AUDIT), and their average AUDIT level was considered risky according to the national standard; a finding confirmed by Ridout, Campbell, and Ellis (2012). Twitter is also used to display alcohol references; about one third of college students who tweet frequently were found to share alcohol-related content (Moreno, Arseniev-Koehler, Litt, & Christakis, 2016).…”

How can social media analytics assist authorities in pandemic-related policy decisions? Insights from Australian states and territories

“…For instance, social media analytics were used to increase the e ciency of the health sector in different ways (Paul & Dredze, 2014). Some of the examples include: (a) Predictions-related to non-contagious diseases, e.g., heart disease mortality using psychological language used in tweets (Eichstaedt et al, 2014); (b) Predictions-related to contagious diseases, e.g., the use of tweets to evaluate the disease activity and the US public perceptions during the in uenza H1N1 pandemic (Signorini et al, 2011); (c) Governance in health, e.g., adapting social media in local health departments (Harris et al, 2013); (d) Awareness raising, e.g., health information dissemination through social networks (Scanfeld et al, 2010); (e) Study on non-healthy addictions, e.g., college student's addiction to alcohol using Facebook and Twitter posts (Moreno et al, 2016); (f) Student education in the health sector, e.g., importance in introducing social media analytics to nursing curriculum (Jones et al, 2016), and; (g) Healthcare professionals-related issues, e.g., women in the health sector (Devi, 2015). Nevertheless, the use of social media analytics to increase the e ciency of community centric policy decisions during a pandemic is still an understudied area of research.…”