High social media use significantly associated with increased odds of alcohol use among adolescents

28-Apr-2026

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High social media use is significantly associated with increased odds of alcohol use among adolescents, according to a new study.

“Researchers at Northwell Health conducted a study to better understand how today’s rapidly evolving social media landscape may be associated with substance use behaviors among adolescents,” said Neel Sharma, research intern at Northwell Health and lead author of the study. “Using nationally representative data, we found that adolescents with the highest levels of social media use had more than triple the odds of recent alcohol use compared to non-users. These findings suggest that social media environments may play a role in exposure to alcohol-related content and behaviors highlighting the need for efforts focused on digital literacy and helping adolescents navigate online spaces more safely.”

As social media becomes a bigger part of adolescents’ lives, they may be exposed to content promoting underage drinking. Although prior studies have examined associations between social media use and alcohol use, many were conducted before the rise of platforms like TikTok or used small sample sizes. To better understand this relationship, more current, large-scale, national data is needed. Researchers examined the association between social media use and alcohol use among U.S. high school students, and whether this relationship varied by grade, sex, race/ethnicity or sexuality.

Chi square analysis showed 28.0% of students with high social media use reported alcohol use, vs. 19.7% (moderate use), 13.2% (low use), and 9.2% (no use) (p < .001). In the adjusted regression, high social media use was associated with 3.15 times higher odds of alcohol use compared to no use (p < .001). Moderate use was associated with 1.72 times higher odds of alcohol use (p=.003), while low use was not significantly associated (p=.336). Interaction models showed the association between social media use and alcohol use did not significantly differ by grade, sex or race/ethnicity. However, students who identified as gay/lesbian had greater odds of alcohol use at both moderate (p=.006) and high (p < .001) social media levels.

These findings emphasize the need for further research into how digital depictions of alcohol shape youth health outcomes.

https://www.yumda.com/en/news/1188589/high-social-media-use-significantly-associated-with-increased-odds-of-alcohol-use-among-adolescents.html