Beyond self-reports: Elucidating the role of social acceptability in substance-use-related social media effects

The college years are noted for the emergence and escalation of substance use, including alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. Simultaneously, with the habituation of social media in individuals’ social lives, substance use behaviors have increasingly found their way online. Prior research already demonstrated that exposure to others’ and self-sharing of own alcohol references on social media can be related to greater levels of alcohol consumption. However, three major research gaps prevail: The methodological predominance of self-report data, the focus on alcohol, and the disregard of platform-specific differences. This project will systematically address these gaps using a social acceptability approach. In order to substantially improve the understanding of the roles social media can play in individuals’ substance use behavior, this research project proposes three objectives that traverse the three research gaps: Establish the role of social acceptability in substanceuse-related SELF-SHARING behavior, determine how social acceptability affects individuals’ awareness of EXPOSURE to substance use references, and assess whether substance-userelated social media EFFECTS are dependent on different aspects of social acceptability. In order to meet these objectives, a multimethodological approach will be used, combining a content analysis with self-report data, a within-subjects eye tracking study with postreceptive interviews, and a range of between-subjects experiments.