The Impact of Social Media on Social Behaviors and Alcohol Consumption

Abstract

This research project examines the subliminal effects that alcohol consumption may or may not have on a person’s technology-based social behaviors. If the effect of alcohol consumption alters social behaviors, then a logical question is whether and how these behaviors are expressed through social media. Sub-areas of inquiry include alcohol’s effect on mood, alcohol-based interactions on social media and the impact of alcohol on an individual’s use of different social media platforms. The main objective of this research is to obtain a clearer understanding of the extent to which alcohol consumption and advertisement impact social media interactions. If correlations can be found, then a further step is to examine alcohol consumption interactions and advertising-based interactions and their influence on the activities of other social media users and the content of their posts. The research will examine social media content created about consuming alcohol through the use of keyword analysis. It will focus specifically on data that can be gleaned from Facebook and Twitter postings. The frequency of social media content creation when under the influence of alcohol will be compared with content creation during periods of sobriety. The research will discern whether there is a noticeable change in content subject matter, attitude and/or tone when alcohol is being consumed. It will also determine whether there is a correlation between social media advertisements related to alcohol, and if so, whether the followers of those advertisements increase their own alcohol-related user content and whether this then increases alcohol consumption. Technology such as social media has significantly reduced the time and distance between communication channels and users. This research project examines technology-based social behaviors to discern whether user content on social media can be collected and analyzed to cultivate additional sales within the alcohol industry.