Dataset Information

What Do Adolescents See on Social Media? A Diary Study of Food Marketing Images on Social Media.

ABSTRACT: Food marketing influences eating preferences and choices, especially among adolescents, contributing to the rise of overweight, obesity, and other chronic health disorders. Recent social media advancements have provided food marketers with platforms to reach out to many in more personal and authentic ways as compared to classical media advertising. Such personalized and borderless social media platforms allow marketers to easily use owned, paid, and earned (word-of -mouth) marketing strategies, including paid and non-paid influencers to reach younger target audiences. This study therefore aims to explore food messages adolescents (12-18 years old) encounter on social media, and assess these messages for their sources, the presence of core and non-core food, and the marketing strategies employed. To attain an in-depth understanding of the food messages that adolescents are continuously exposed to, we carried out a diary study with 21 Flemish adolescents who took screenshots of food images they encountered on their social media platforms for the duration of one week. A quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 611 images revealed that adolescents are mostly exposed to messages of non-core (67% of images) and branded (49% of images) food, often (49% of images) presented in association with a social context such as hanging around with friends, eating at restaurants and celebrating with food. Adolescents often encounter branded food images through peers and social media influencers, the majority of which are part of earned (49% of branded images) or paid (40% of branded images) media food marketing. This research provides an in-depth understanding of the social media messages that adolescents encounter on a daily basis and sheds light on food norms typically communicated on social media by marketers, peers, and influencers. Study findings highlight prominent social media food messages that should be tested for their persuasiveness, providing insights for future research that aims to assess the effects of social media food marketing on adolescents. Based on the study findings, we call for relevant policy actions that address current social media marketing strategies targeted at adolescents.

SUBMITTER: Qutteina Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6883917 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

What Do Adolescents See on Social Media? A Diary Study of Food Marketing Images on Social Media.

Qutteina Yara Y Hallez Lotte L Mennes Nine N De Backer Charlotte C Smits Tim T

Frontiers in psychology 20191122

Food marketing influences eating preferences and choices, especially among adolescents, contributing to the rise of overweight, obesity, and other chronic health disorders. Recent social media advancements have provided food marketers with platforms to reach out to many in more personal and authentic ways as compared to classical media advertising. Such personalized and borderless social media platforms allow marketers to easily use owned, paid, and earned (word-of -mouth) marketing strategies, ...[more]

PMID: 31824391

Similar Datasets

Project description:Media-saturated digital environments seek to influence social media users' behaviour, including through marketing. The World Health Organization has identified food marketing, including advertising for unhealthy items, as detrimental to health, and in many countries, regulation restricts such marketing and advertising to younger children. Yet regulation rarely addresses adolescents and few studies have examined their responses to social media advertising. In two studies, we examined adolescents' attention, memory and social responses to advertising posts, including interactions between product types and source of posts. We hypothesized adolescents would respond more positively to unhealthy food advertising compared to healthy food or non-food advertising, and more positively to ads shared by peers or celebrities than to ads shared by a brand. Outcomes measured were (1a) social responses (likelihood to 'share', attitude to peer); (1b) brand memory (recall, recognition) and (2) attention (eye-tracking fixation duration and count). Participants were 151 adolescent social media users (Study 1: n = 72; 13-14 years; M = 13.56 years, SD = 0.5; Study 2: n = 79, 13-17 years, M = 15.37 years, SD = 1.351). They viewed 36 fictitious Facebook profile feeds created to show age-typical content. In a 3 × 3 factorial design, each contained an advertising post that varied by content (healthy/unhealthy/non-food) and source (peer/celebrity/company). Generalised linear mixed models showed that advertisements for unhealthy food evoked significantly more positive responses, compared to non-food and healthy food, on 5 of 6 measures: adolescents were more likely to wish to 'share' unhealthy posts; rated peers more positively when they had unhealthy posts in their feeds; recalled and recognised a greater number of unhealthy food brands; and viewed unhealthy advertising posts for longer. Interactions with sources (peers, celebrities and companies) were more complex but also favoured unhealthy food advertising. Implications are that regulation of unhealthy food advertising should address adolescents and digital media.

Project description:ObjectivesThe study objectives were to examine: (1) adolescents' media viewing habits, (2) associations with media viewing and self-reported exposure to unhealthy food and beverage advertising and (3) differences in trends among younger and older adolescents in six high and upper middle-income countries.DesignRepeat cross-sectional online survey.SettingAustralia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA).ParticipantsRespondents to the International Food Policy Study who provided information on all variables of interest in November-December 2019 aged 10-17 years (n=9171).Outcome measuresSelf-reported exposure to screen-based media (screen time by media channel), use of social media platforms and self-reported location and frequency of exposure to unhealthy food and beverage advertising.ResultsThe average amount of time spent in front of various screens ranged from 7.6 hours to 10.2 hours across countries per week day, which may include possible viewing of multiple media channels simultaneously. Overall, Instagram was the most popular social media platform (52%-68% by country), followed by Facebook (42%-79%) and Snapchat (28%-52%). The percentage of respondents who self-reported having seen unhealthy food advertisements in the past 30 days was highest on television (43%-69%), followed by digital media (27%-60%) and gaming applications (10%-17%). Self-reported daily exposure to advertising varied between countries for sugary drinks (10%-43%) and fast food (19%-44%) and was positively associated with self-reported screen time. Self-reported exposure to screen-based media and social media platforms differed by sociodemographic characteristics and was higher among older adolescents than younger adolescents.ConclusionsThe important amount of time spent on screen-based media reported by adolescents and large percentage of adolescents reporting social media usage, coupled with high rates of self-reported advertising exposure, support the need for policies to restrict marketing of unhealthy food and beverages appealing to adolescents on screen-based media.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Seeking and sharing information are the primary uses of the internet and social media. It is therefore vital to understand the processes individuals go through when engaging with information on these diverse platforms, especially in areas such as health- and risk-related information. One important element of such engagement is evaluating and attributing expertise to others. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to explore how meanings around expertise in relation to food allergy and intolerance (food hypersensitivity) were constructed by 2 groups of social media users: (1) those who use platforms for reasons relating to food hypersensitivity and (2) those seen as experts by this community. METHODS:Survey participants were asked open-ended questions to identify potential experts in food hypersensitivity issues on social media and to discuss their reasoning for their choices (n=143). Subsequently, 8 adult social media users with experience of managing food hypersensitivity and 5 participants designated as experts by those users took part in email interviews. Survey and interview data were analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke's approach. RESULTS:Judging expertise on social media is a complex and multifaceted process. Users might be judged as experts through their professional background or their experience living with food hypersensitivities. How users behave on social media and the traces of their Web-based activity can influence how others will see them. Such considerations are both measured and moderated through the social media community itself. Findings highlighted how social media often act as a supportive information tool following a diagnosis, but this also raised concerns regarding the scenario of patients not being able to access suitable vetted information. CONCLUSIONS:This work has implications for understanding how users perceive expertise on social media in relation to a health concern and how information assessments are made during the management of risks. Findings provide practical insights to both medical and organizational stakeholders involved in the support of those living with life-changing conditions, such as food hypersensitivities.

Project description:BackgroundTraditional food marketing, mostly involving advertisement of nutrient poor and energy dense foods, has the effect of enhancing attitudes, preferences, and increasing intake of marketed foods in adolescents, with detrimental consequences for health. While the use of social media applications in adolescents has proliferated, little is known about the content of food promotions within these applications. The aim of this study was to investigate adolescents' exposure to and evaluation of social media food promotions (SMFPs).MethodsAustralian adolescents aged 13-16 years joined one-on-one Zoom meetings with the researcher on the device they normally used for social media. Participants shared their screen and visited up to three of their favourite social media platforms for 10 min each, during which the researcher pointed out examples of SMFPs to participants. Next, participants answered questions about their awareness and appreciation of SMFPs. Screenshots of SMFPs were de-identified and analysed.ResultsThe study included 35 adolescents aged 14.4 (± 1.2) years (boys: n = 18; girls: n = 17). Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube were the most favoured social media platforms. During a total of 1000 min of viewing time, 1801 unbranded (n = 1221) and branded (n = 580) SMFPs were identified. Participants viewed a median rate (IQR) of 12.0 (6.3-20) SMFPs per 10 min, with a median rate of 6.0 (3-11) non-core SMFPs per 10 min. A majority of SMFPs (62%) were embedded into celebrity influencer or entertaining content (e.g., vlogs, cooking videos, streamed TV content). In total, 60% of the participants said they had sometimes, rarely or never noticed the SMFPs pointed out by the researcher themselves. Participants largely remembered non-core foods or brands (77%). Almost half (49%) of participants liked SMFPs, while only 6% disliked them.ConclusionsThis study contributes to a relatively unexplored research area. The outcomes show adolescents' SMFP exposure mostly concerns unhealthy foods, shown in advertisements and other food-related posts, which are integrated into a wide variety of entertainment that is appreciated by adolescents. The results emphasise the need for more research on SMFPs, with particular focus on the impact on adolescent dietary behaviours, and clearer definitions and stricter regulations regarding adolescent-targeted social media food marketing.

Dataset Information

What Do Adolescents See on Social Media? A Diary Study of Food Marketing Images on Social Media.

Publications

What Do Adolescents See on Social Media? A Diary Study of Food Marketing Images on Social Media.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets