title: Exploring college students' use of general and alcohol-related social media and their associations with alcohol-related behaviors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Alcohol marketers have increasingly moved their advertising efforts into digital and social media venues. As a result, the purpose of this study is to investigate associations between students' use of social media, their exposure to alcohol marketing messages through social media, and their alcohol-related beliefs and behaviors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Public and private university students (N = 637) participated November and December 2011 and April 2012.
  
  
  METHODS
  College students completed online surveys to measure their exposure to social and online media generally, as well as their alcohol-related digital media use and alcohol use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Use of social media related to alcohol marketing predicted alcohol consumption and engaging in risky behaviors, whereas the use of social media more generally did not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Students' use of alcohol-related social media-marketing content associates with their problem drinking. Results have implications for alcohol abuse reduction efforts targeted at college students and suggest the importance of considering social, cultural, and cognitive factors in campaign planning and design.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication , Flagler College , St. Augustine , Florida.
authors.forename: Eric W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Bruce E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Pinkleton
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weintraub Austin
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Reyes-Velázquez
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012309:Risk-Taking; D040241:Social Marketing; D061108:Social Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alcohol abuse prevention; alcohol-advertising effects; college students’ drinking; digital alcohol marketing; social media marketing