Does Social Networking Contribute to Binge Drinking?
As part of a multi-year $864,000 study led by Associate Professor Antonia Lyons from Massey University, researchers have found that social networking use has become integral to the drinking culture of young people age 18 - 25. In addition, this same group does not fully recognize how much alcohol advertising has been integrated into their drinking culture; they "like" brands and play drinking video games, but still claim to be 'savvy' about media promotion.
Some reports are claiming this study shows a link to "alcoholism" which isn't the same as binge drinking or drinking culture. To know more we will need to wait until the study has been published.
The research report calls out a few of the products that are integrated into the drinking culture. One product, called the Opena, raised funding on kickstarter this summer is a bottle opener case for your iPhone. Other applications such as Texting While Intoxicated help keep drunk folks from texting when they shouldn't. Young people use these applications without realizing that the applications may actually support and promote binge drinking.
This study is in contrast to others that have found no connection between social media use and grades and can actually improve mental health.
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