Disentangling the complex associations between the use of social networking sites and adolescents’ alcohol (mis)use: Go-along interviews and a daily diary study

Building on innovative qualitative (i.c., go-along interviews) and quantitative research (ic., daily diary study with measurement burst design), the current study aims to develop a new conceptual framework explaining the complex associations between young adolescents’ uses of various social media platforms and alcohol consumption. This framework will substantially advance the current state of the art by providing a profound insight in (1) how different uses of different platforms lead to different social media effects, (2) how these effects unfold across situations and over time (from day-to-day and over a longer time frame), and (3) how differential susceptibility factors affect and interact with various social media uses. As such, this study will provide a unique insight in the within-person daily associations between social media uses and alcohol consumption, and contribute to theorizing on how the use of SNS affects individuals’ well-being.

Keywords:social media, alcohol, adolescents, media effects, risk behavior

Disciplines:Media sociology