The Association Between Social Networking Sites and Alcohol Abuse Among Belgian Adolescents

Abstract

Abstract. Both consuming alcohol and using social networking sites (SNS) are popular pastimes among adolescents. The current cross-sectional study (N = 3,133) aims to explore the relation between being exposed to and displaying alcohol-related content on SNS with alcohol abuse among adolescents aged 16–20 years. First, the results support that displaying alcohol-related content on SNS is more strongly associated with alcohol abuse than exposure to this kind of content. Furthermore, the associations of both exposure to and displaying alcohol-related content on SNS with alcohol abuse are mediated through perceived social norms of friends and attitudes toward excessive alcohol consumption. Yet, whereas alcohol-related attitudes and social norms seemed to be equally important mediators in the relation between exposure to alcohol-related content on SNS and alcohol abuse, the association between displaying alcohol-related content on SNS and alcohol abuse seemed to be mediated predominantly through a change in alcohol-related attitudes. Overall, this study sheds more light on the complex relations between SNS use and risky drinking behavior among adolescents.