What kind of alcohol-related photo makes people want to post on social media? Cross-cultural comparisons between Korea and the US

Abstract

Given the increase in problems arising from young people more frequently posting alcohol use on social media, this research aims to elucidate which factors influence such behavior. Additionally, this study examines the impact of alcohol-related cognitions on posting behavior. The final aim is to discover cross-cultural differences between the US and Korea. An online experiment was conducted as a 2 (photo-type: alcohol focus versus alcohol-in-use) × 2 (alcohol type: beer versus wine) × 2 (culture: American versus Korean) between-subject design with 203 American and 233 Korean young adults. Results showed that alcohol-in-use photos generated higher intention to post than alcohol-focused photos and wine photos generated higher intention than beer photos. Also, only Koreans showed a significant effect of alcohol-related cognitions on posting intention. This empirical study suggests that interventions aimed at decreasing problems that result from alcohol-related postings might benefit from emphasizing photos depicting people with alcohol (alcohol-in-use), especially when it comes to wine photos. In addition, culture-specific intervention programs can be designed based on the results of this study.