Alcohol cravings and engagement with alcohol content on social media

Background Use of social media may activate similar regions of the brain as psychoactive substances, and research suggests a close relationship between social media and alcohol use. But research on alcohol use cravings in relation to social media is scant. The current study sought to determine if alcohol cravings were associated with engagement (i.e. Liking, Sharing, Commenting) with social media alcohol content. Method In all, n = 723 participants (18-65 years old) completed the Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (DAQ) before and after viewing 6 social media alcohol posts. The likelihood of Liking, Sharing, and Commenting on each depiction was assessed after each exposure. Path analysis assessed direct and indirect effects after adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, social media involvement, and AUDIT score, and clustering of responses within persons. Results Pre-exposure DAQ scores were positively associated with the likelihood of ad Liking (p < .001), Sharing (p < .001), and commenting (p < .001). Likelihood of ad Liking (p = .035) and commenting (p = .028) were positively associated with post-exposure DAQ scores, with the indirect effects also statistically significant (p's < .05). Conclusions Persons with high alcohol cravings may be more likely to engage with alcohol content on social media, and the act of engagement may subsequently increase alcohol cravings, which suggests a possible positive feedback loop. The role of social media should be accounted for in the prevention and treatment of alcohol use disorders.