---
title: Influencer Posts With Alcohol Imagery May Increase Drinking Desires
description: Viewing social media content that promotes alcohol use is associated with the desire to drink in young adults.
---

[Psych News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org)

# [Influencer Posts With Alcohol Imagery May Increase Drinking Desires](https://alert.psychnews.org/influencer-posts-with-alcohol-imagery-may-increase-drinking-desires)

 Written by [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) | 2/24/26 8:12 PM

Viewing social media content that promotes alcohol use is associated with the desire to drink in young adults, according to a [research letter](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2845350) in *JAMA Pediatrics*.

 

**Why It’s Relevant**

Many social media influencers, particularly lifestyle influencers, [post about alcohol](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6987445/) in a humorous or positive context, sometimes even hawking specific alcohol brands. Although prior research has shown a link between alcohol-promoting content on social media and alcohol-promoting attitudes and behaviors among young adults, most studies were not able to show causation and were limited by confounding variables.

 

**By the Numbers**

- 2,000 adults ages 18 to 24 were assigned to view either 20 Instagram posts from lifestyle influencers that showed alcohol consumption or alcohol-promoting imagery such as holding a drink, or 20 posts from the same influencers without alcohol-related imagery.
- Participants who viewed the posts with alcohol-related imagery had **1.73 times the odds of reporting a higher desire to drink** than those who looked at posts without alcohol-related imagery.
- Those who reported using alcohol in the past 30 days were **more likely to report a higher desire to drink** upon viewing posts with alcohol-related imagery compared with those who didn’t use alcohol in the past 30 days.
- After viewing posts with alcohol-related imagery, participants who perceived the influencers as highly credible had **5.53 times the odds of reporting a higher desire to drink** than those who didn’t perceive influencers as highly credible.

**The Other Side**

The study only examined immediate drinking desires and not whether exposure to alcohol-promoting content leads to increased drinking among viewers. Further, this experimental study only tested one type of post category on one social media platform.

 

**Takeaway Message**

“Addressing social media’s role in shaping alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors may be critical for curbing alcohol consumption among young adults,” the researchers wrote. “Future research should examine how repeated exposure to alcohol-related content affects drinking intentions and behaviors over time and whether this association differs by content source (e.g., brand-generated advertising; peer- or influencer-generated posts).”

 

**Related Information**

“[Exposure to Alcohol‐Related Content on Social‐Media](https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.prcp.20230009)”

 

**Source**

Scott Donaldson, et. al. Exposure to alcohol-related social media content and desire to drink among young adults. *JAMA Pediatrics*. Published online February 23, 2026. doi: [10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.6335](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2845350)

 

(Image: Getty Images/iStock/FG Trade)

 

[View full post](https://alert.psychnews.org/influencer-posts-with-alcohol-imagery-may-increase-drinking-desires)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-02-24T20:12:38.184Z",
  "datePublished" : "2026-02-24T20:12:37Z",
  "headline" : "Influencer Posts With Alcohol Imagery May Increase Drinking Desires",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 483,
    "url" : "https://46880868.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/46880868/Imported_Blog_Media/woman_phone_iStock-1415633743.jpg",
    "width" : 723
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/influencer-posts-with-alcohol-imagery-may-increase-drinking-desires",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Psych News Alert"
  }
}
```