As millions of people turn to social media for health information, a new study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health found that alcohol’s well-established link to cancer is largely missing from alcohol-related posts on Instagram and TikTok.
Published in February in Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research, the study found that alcohol-related content on Instagram and TikTok overwhelmingly portrayed drinking in a positive light while rarely mentioning potential health risks. Researchers say the findings underscore social media’s untapped potential as a platform for cancer prevention messaging.
Alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, yet public awareness of that connection remains low. The Pitt Public Health researchers wanted to better understand what messages people encounter when viewing alcohol-related content on social media.
“Social media has become a major source of health information, so understanding what messages are—and aren’t—being shared is important for public health,” said first author Joseph Alejandro, a PhD student in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences at Pitt Public Health.
The team reviewed almost 2,400 public Instagram and TikTok posts tagged with hashtags including #alcohol, #beer, #wine, #liquor and #cocktail. They found that alcohol was frequently portrayed as fun and socially desirable, with many posts depicting excessive drinking or single beverages containing multiple standard drinks. Across both platforms, only one post discussed alcohol’s link to cancer.
“People spend a significant amount of time on social media, and the messages they see can shape what they believe about health,” said senior author Christina Mair, PhD, professor of behavioral and community health sciences at Pitt Public Health. “Our findings suggest we’re missing an important opportunity to share evidence-based information about alcohol and cancer risk where many people are already getting information.”
The researchers say the findings can help inform future public health campaigns designed specifically for social media.
“Simply posting accurate health information isn’t enough,” said Jaime Sidani, PhD, associate professor of behavioral and community health sciences at Pitt Public Health. “Effective messages need to fit the way people engage with platforms like Instagram and TikTok so they’re both informative and likely to reach the audiences who can benefit most.”
In their future research, Alejandro, Mair, and Sidani plan to study how social media algorithms influence what people see online and develop alcohol-cancer prevention content tailored for social media.
“We want to work with social media influencers and other content creators who have audiences that may be at higher risk for alcohol-related harms like cancer,” Alejandro said. “Ultimately, we’d like to use these platforms to reach the people who are most likely to benefit from that information.”
In addition to Alejandro, Sidani and Mair, co-authors included Robert W.S. Coulter, Kar-Hai Chu, Alexa Pierce, Kennedy Sawicki, and Arpita Tripathi, all of Pitt Public Health.
-Ava Dzurenda