Social media use may help identify students at risk of alcohol problems
"This work underscores the central role that social networking sites, or SNSs, play in helping students coordinate, advertise and facilitate their drinking experiences," says Lynsey Romo, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and co-lead author of a paper on the work. "The study also indicates that students who are at risk of having drinking problems can be identified through SNSs." "We started this project with a threshold question: what drives students to drink and post about alcohol on SNSs," says Charee Thompson, an assistant professor of communication studies at Ohio University and co-lead author of the study. To address that question, the researchers conducted an online survey of 364 undergraduate students at a Midwestern university. The students were all over 18, reported having consumed at least one alcoholic drink in the past month, and had an active Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account. Study participants were asked about ...