Social networks and food choice of adolescents from a school in the Lisbon region

Abstract

The use of social networks (SNs) leads to the development of autonomy and identity construction by young people, which may influence their food choices. The aim of this cross-sectional observational quantitative study was to determine the relationship between SNs and food choices of adolescents from a secondary school in the Lisbon region, according to the time of SN use. Data were collected at school using a Google Forms questionnaire for adolescents aged 16-19 years who used SNs. A sample of 176 participants was obtained. Of these adolescents, 60.2% used SNs less than four hours daily, while 39.8% used SNs more than four hours. In the lower SN usage group, the majority were boys (53.80%), while the majority were girls (61.40%) in the higher usage group (p<0.05). No statistically significant differences between adolescents who use the SNs less than or more than four hours daily were detected. In this study, no relationship was found between time in SNs and adolescents' food choices. Further studies on this topic will be necessary. Keywords: Adolescents, food choices, Lisbon, social networks