Do we need to address alcohol culture on social media?
Australians are pretty well-known as lovers of a drink or two, and while this isn’t necessarily wholly a bad thing, the opposite could be said about tackling the culture of alcohol. Particularly on social media, alcohol is often used as an attractive selling point with no real perceived awareness about young people seeing this kind of content.
Reports across news bulletins in recent years have stated that young people are supposedly drinking less. Really? With social media so entrenched in our lives, we are obviously marketed with every possible thing available, and alcohol is no different. Influencers are constantly invited to flashy events where they are served sparkling wine and cocktails, and this is seen to many young people as an enviable lifestyle. Followers under the age of eighteen are being subconsciously fed an attraction to alcohol before they are of legal age to purchase and consume it or think about doing so.
Businesses who sell alcohol and create social media pages cover themselves by writing captions that state that the page’s content is designed for those of legal age. While looking for an example, I actually came across a new feature I have never seen (below image). From this point, the profile can’t even be accessed. Whilst this is a good addition to avoid speaking to underage minds, those who are legally able to drink can’t even see the content and have the marketing work for them!
How can a business control underage people who access the account’s content? A sixteen-year-old can easily lie about their age and enter an incorrect birthday. However, in extreme circumstances, a minor can be criminally charged if they lie about their age and are caught.
Alcohol advertising has reached a point where companies or movements are branding themselves on labels and promoting the purchase of alcohol to contribute to a cause. An election in New Zealand this month has given one brewery an idea to create beer with the name “Outvote Boomers”, aimed at young New Zealanders. The point being that their vote matters and they can change their own future rather than it being decided by Baby Boomers. So, in this case, alcohol is being used to easily target young people who drink and can vote—a large percentage of the population—because it is not compulsory to vote. Can they just expect a whole heap of drunk Gen Y/Z voters at the polling booths?
The brewery has sent the beer to influencers who take posed, “cool” images with the Outvote Boomers beer, which is then further promoted to a wider audience. New Zealand based influencer, @viarnibright, captured herself drinking (or not—it isn’t totally obvious) and holding a six pack of the Outvote Boomers product. If a twelve-year-old follows this account because they admire Viarni’s style for example, they are automatically being fed alcohol-related content in the same way.
How many times have we been out on the weekend and wanted images holding our drinks? Whilst it may not be a conscious decision, it happens often. It is deemed desirable to be holding a delicious cocktail or pint of beer; like we are doing something fun with our day and are not boring. Alcohol companies seem to capitalise on this by promoting the exact lifestyle that young people are living, or a more idealised version of it.
Studies have shown that drinking behaviour can be linked with social media content related to alcohol, though this alters slightly from country to country. Regulations in Australian media seem to be on the right track with limiting viewers of the content, but with waves of influencers showing up on young people’s feeds, it’s no wonder that this may make little difference. This blatantly shows what lengths some influencers will go for some quick cash.