Social Media and the Impact on Alcohol Consumption: A Study among Academics from a Public University in a Western Amazon City, Porto Velho, Brazil

Abstract

This is a descriptive study of quantitative approach, developed at the Federal University of Rondonia located in the Western Amazon. With the aim of analyzing the frequency of visualization of alcoholic content in the Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, patterns of consumption, reasons that lead them to drink, most used social network and to correlate how often the users are exposed to alcoholic publications, determining if there was an important link between individual drinking practice during the beginning period and six months later. The information was obtained through the application of questionnaires for incoming students of the freshmen semester, in two moments: a period from August to December 2016/2, and, asking the same students again, from March to June 2017/1. 52.8% were males in 2016/2 and 57, 9% of females in 2017/1 with age ranging between 18 and 20 years in both periods. Facebook has proven to be the most used platform among college students. In 2016/2, 63.9% reported seeing alcohol content at Facebook and consuming that substance, comparing to Instagram with 70.4%, and to Snapchat with 74.1%. In 2017/2, academics reporting viewing alcoholic content on Facebook and consuming those alcoholic beverages accounted for 65.8%, compared to Instagram, 74.1% and Snapchat 74.4%. “Celebrating a special occasion with friends” is the most cited reason of why claim to consume alcohol. Therelation between exposure to the alcohol content of the virtual media and the network of friends was found imperceptible to the majority of the students, as they mostly do not consider themselves exposed. Many university students start the graduation already consuming alcoholic substances, which explains why there is no significant change in alcohol consumption between the observed moments, although it was found a relationship between the visualization of alcohol content in social networks and consumption, with greater impact on Snapchat.