Alcohol abuse is one of the greatest problems facing the US population today and increased usage/availability of advertisements has only exacerbated the problem. In this age of technology we are surrounded and bombarded by advertisements. Corporations domestically and across the globe have found ways to put advertising in just about every facet of our daily lives. These advertisements might be pushed aside as insignificant, but they control our behavior without us even realizing. In the alcohol industry, corporations and bars alike have developed clever marketing strategies to promote a positive narrative on consuming alcohol, ignoring many of the negatives/consequences. It is the advertisements from those places that college students see on social media, in streaming services/television, and in their day-to-day life which may foster such unhealthy drinking habits. The purpose of this study is to examine the connection between advertisement in-take of alcohol brands and drinking habits among college students. Data will be collected from online surveys housed in Qualtrics via email invitations at a mid-sized midwestern university; the data collection is ongoing with college students as subjects. The expected outcome of the study is finding a direct link between high advertisement exposure and dangerous drinking habits of college aged students. This study is significant as it can add to the general understanding of how dangerous drinking habits are normalized and/or how controlling advertisement exposure could curb dangerous drinking habits.
Author(s): Miles Lynn, Psychology and Premedical Studies Major
Advisor(s): Rose Marie Ward, Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition and Health
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