The reciprocal associations between sharing alcohol references on social networking sites and binge drinking: A longitudinal study among late adolescents

Accumulating evidence indicates that social media use and the consumption of alcohol are related. The present longitudinal study (N = 1006) adds to this line of research by examining the reciprocity of sharing alcohol references on social media and binge drinking among late adolescents (age 16-20 at baseline). The results indicate that binge drinking and alcohol-related self-presentation affect each other simultaneously over time. However, no support was found for the proposition that the perceived feedback of peers can strengthen this relationship, nor did we find a direct association between the perceived feedback of peers and alcohol-related self-presentation one year later. Overall, the results suggest that binge drinking and alcohol-related self-presentation on social media should be studied as tied behaviors, affecting each other simultaneously over time.