April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: How Alcohol Marketing on Social Networking Sites Influences Young Singaporeans’ Binge Drinking: Application of the Prototype Willingness Model
Introduction
There is ample evidence showing that exposure to various forms of alcohol marketing on SNS leads to the initiation and progression to binge and hazardous drinking. Adolescents and young adults are especially vulnerable to advertising and marketing strategies that are commonly used by alcohol companies. Despite existing evidence on the association between SNS and alcohol consumption among youths, it remains unclear how different patterns and intensities of social media alcohol marketing impact youth alcohol consumption. In this study, we focused on the influence of two patterns of alcohol marketing influence – passive exposure to and active engagement with alcohol marketing on SNS.
The prototype willingness model (PWM) has served as a theoretical framework to understand the psychological mechanisms leading to youth binge drinking. The PWM is a dual processing model positing that youth health-risk decision making is influenced by two distinct pathways: the pathway of Reasoned Action and the pathway of Social Reaction. Based on the theoretical framework and prior literature, we aimed to investigate if and how passive exposure to and active engagement with alcohol marketing on SNS affect young Singaporeans’ binge drinking via the two pathways.
Methods
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 305 young Singaporeans as part of a broader study. Over two months (March to April 2022), participants completed a 20-minute online survey distributed by a local research firm. SEM analysis was used to test the hypothesized relationships. In this study, we tested the statistical significance of model parameters using two estimation methods: Maximum Likelihood and bootstrapping methods.
Results
Passive exposure to alcohol marketing did not significantly predict binge drinking perceptions, with the exception of its influence on descriptive norms (perceived prevalence). Conversely, active engagement with alcohol marketing on SNS (liking, commenting, and sharing) significantly affected attitudes towards alcohol and was notably linked to prototype perceptions (favorability and similarity). Moreover, mediation analysis revealed an indirect relationship between active engagement and willingness to binge drink, mediated by prototype favorability via the Social Reaction Pathway.
Discussion
This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms behind binge drinking influenced by SNS alcohol marketing. The findings emphasize the role of non-deliberative, reactive decision-making processes facilitated by frequent SNS use, which can increase the propensity for binge drinking by enhancing prototype favorability. By highlighting prototype favorability as a key mediator, our research sheds light on how social media marketing may sway alcohol consumption decisions through subconscious risk and consequence evaluation. These insights offer valuable implications for designing health interventions that cater to the diverse decision-making processes young individuals employ regarding health-risk behaviors.
There is ample evidence showing that exposure to various forms of alcohol marketing on SNS leads to the initiation and progression to binge and hazardous drinking. Adolescents and young adults are especially vulnerable to advertising and marketing strategies that are commonly used by alcohol companies. Despite existing evidence on the association between SNS and alcohol consumption among youths, it remains unclear how different patterns and intensities of social media alcohol marketing impact youth alcohol consumption. In this study, we focused on the influence of two patterns of alcohol marketing influence – passive exposure to and active engagement with alcohol marketing on SNS.
The prototype willingness model (PWM) has served as a theoretical framework to understand the psychological mechanisms leading to youth binge drinking. The PWM is a dual processing model positing that youth health-risk decision making is influenced by two distinct pathways: the pathway of Reasoned Action and the pathway of Social Reaction. Based on the theoretical framework and prior literature, we aimed to investigate if and how passive exposure to and active engagement with alcohol marketing on SNS affect young Singaporeans’ binge drinking via the two pathways.
Methods
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 305 young Singaporeans as part of a broader study. Over two months (March to April 2022), participants completed a 20-minute online survey distributed by a local research firm. SEM analysis was used to test the hypothesized relationships. In this study, we tested the statistical significance of model parameters using two estimation methods: Maximum Likelihood and bootstrapping methods.
Results
Passive exposure to alcohol marketing did not significantly predict binge drinking perceptions, with the exception of its influence on descriptive norms (perceived prevalence). Conversely, active engagement with alcohol marketing on SNS (liking, commenting, and sharing) significantly affected attitudes towards alcohol and was notably linked to prototype perceptions (favorability and similarity). Moreover, mediation analysis revealed an indirect relationship between active engagement and willingness to binge drink, mediated by prototype favorability via the Social Reaction Pathway.
Discussion
This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms behind binge drinking influenced by SNS alcohol marketing. The findings emphasize the role of non-deliberative, reactive decision-making processes facilitated by frequent SNS use, which can increase the propensity for binge drinking by enhancing prototype favorability. By highlighting prototype favorability as a key mediator, our research sheds light on how social media marketing may sway alcohol consumption decisions through subconscious risk and consequence evaluation. These insights offer valuable implications for designing health interventions that cater to the diverse decision-making processes young individuals employ regarding health-risk behaviors.