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Examining the Relationship between Youth-Targeted Food Marketing Expenditures and the Demographics of Social Media Followers

Author

Listed:
  • Pasquale E. Rummo

    (Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA)

  • Omni Cassidy

    (Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA)

  • Ingrid Wells

    (Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA)

  • Jaime A. Coffino

    (Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222, USA
    Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA)

  • Marie A. Bragg

    (Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
    Department of Nutrition, New York University School of Global Public Health, New York, NY 10012, USA)

Abstract

Background : To determine how many adolescents follow food/beverage brands on Instagram and Twitter, and examine associations between brands’ youth-targeted marketing practices and percentages of adolescent followers. Methods : We purchased data from Demographics Pro to characterize the demographics of Twitter and Instagram users who followed 27 of the most highly advertised fast food, snack, and drink brands in 2019. We used one-sample t -tests to compare percentages of adolescent followers of the selected brands’ accounts versus all social media accounts, independent samples t -tests to compare followers of sugary versus low-calorie drink brands, and linear regression to examine associations between youth-targeted marketing practices and the percentages of adolescent followers. Results : An estimated 6.2 million adolescents followed the selected brands. A higher percentage of adolescents followed the selected brands’ accounts (9.2%) compared to any account on Twitter (1.2%) ( p < 0.001), but not Instagram. A higher percentage of adolescents followed sugary (7.9%) versus low-calorie drink brands (4.3%) on Instagram ( p = 0.02), but we observed the opposite pattern for adults on Twitter and Instagram. Television advertising expenditures were positively associated with percentages of adolescent followers of the selected brands on Twitter ( p = 0.03), but not Instagram. Conclusions : Food and sugary drink brands maintain millions of adolescent followers on social media.

Suggested Citation

  • Pasquale E. Rummo & Omni Cassidy & Ingrid Wells & Jaime A. Coffino & Marie A. Bragg, 2020. "Examining the Relationship between Youth-Targeted Food Marketing Expenditures and the Demographics of Social Media Followers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-12, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:5:p:1631-:d:327925
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Juliana de Paula Matos & Michele Bittencourt Rodrigues & Camila Kümmel Duarte & Paula Martins Horta, 2023. "A Scoping Review of Observational Studies on Food and Beverage Advertising on Social Media: A Public Health Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-22, February.
    2. Yuanqi Gu & Jaime Coffino & Rebecca Boswell & Zora Hall & Marie A. Bragg, 2021. "Associations between State-Level Obesity Rates, Engagement with Food Brands on Social Media, and Hashtag Usage," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Najlaa M. Aljefree & Ghada Talat Alhothali, 2022. "Exposure to Food Marketing via Social Media and Obesity among University Students in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-13, May.
    4. Cahyono, Edi Dwi, 2023. "Instagram adoption for local food transactions: A research framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    5. Gráinne Murphy & Ciara Corcoran & Mimi Tatlow-Golden & Emma Boyland & Brendan Rooney, 2020. "See, Like, Share, Remember: Adolescents’ Responses to Unhealthy-, Healthy- and Non-Food Advertising in Social Media," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-25, March.

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