Motives for posting and deleting alcohol-related content on social media: Longitudinal associations with behavior among adolescents and young adults.

Examining why adolescents and young adults post or delete alcohol-related content on social media has important implications for understanding and mitigating the influence of alcohol-related social media content on alcohol cognitions and use. This longitudinal study explored motives for posting and deleting alcohol content and their association with actual posting and deleting one month later. Survey data were collected from 306 adolescents and young adults recruited as part of a longitudinal experimental study examining alcohol-related content on social media and alcohol norms and use. Participants aged 15-20 (M = 18.39; SD = 1.32) indicated the top three motives for posting alcohol content: prove they were having fun, show they have an active social life, and make themselves look cool. The most endorsed motives for deleting alcohol-related social media content included: it being unflattering, feeling embarrassed, or fear of others sharing it. After controlling for relevant covariates, a negative binomial regression indicated that at baseline, alcohol-related posting motives related to making others jealous, posting about most things, and doing what friends do were significantly and positively associated with frequency of posting alcohol-related content one month later. Further, results of a linear regression indicated that the only baseline motive significantly associated with frequency of deleting alcohol-related content at 1-month follow-up was finding the content unflattering. Overall, results suggest that there are unique motives associated with both posting and deleting alcohol-related content on social media, which has implications for preventative interventions aiming to reduce alcohol-related social media behavior.