The Associations Between Use of Different Media Types and Energy Drink Consumption Among Emerging Adults

Introduction: Emerging adults are heavy users of many types of media including social media, smartphone applications, the Internet, and television. Heavy media use has been associated with many unhealthy outcomes (i.e. alcohol use, obesity) and through these media, food and beverage companies target emerging adults, especially for energy drinks – a product with a number of negative side effects and health outcomes. However, little research has explored whether use of specific media channels is associated with energy drink consumption. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine whether particular types of media use are associated with energy drink consumption among first-year undergraduate students. 

Methods: Participants were 844 first-year undergraduate students (58.1% female, 50.1% white, m age=18.98) at a large, southwestern university. Participants self-reported health behaviors through an online survey including time spent on an average day (0-≥5 hours) using specific types of media (watching television, playing video games, texting/talking on phone, browsing social network sites, using Internet, using smartphone application, reading for enjoyment). Energy drink consumption included number of drinks usually consumed in one sitting (0-≥5 drinks) and times an energy drink was consumed last week (0-28 times). Linear regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between each media use type and energy drink consumption controlling for gender, age, race, and weekend and weekday sleep duration.

Results: Time spent using some forms of media: social media (p=.01), texting/talking on phone (p<.01), and smartphone applications (p=.05) was associated positively with number of energy drinks usually consumed in one sitting. In contrast, number of hours spent reading for enjoyment was associated negatively with number of energy drinks usually consumed in one sitting (p<.000). Time spent using smartphone applications was associated positively with past week energy drink use (p=.001);reading for enjoyment was negatively associated with past week energy drink use (p<.05).

Conclusions: The positive associations between new media use (social media, Internet, cell phones) and energy drinks usually consumed in one sitting may reflect the increased exposure these young adults have to the targeted marketing of energy drink products through these media sources. Reading for fun was negatively associated with energy drink use as this type of media use likely has few, if any, advertisements, this finding is not surprising. Given the negative health outcomes associated with consumption, future studies are needed which continue to explore these associations and determine longitudinal relationships that further investigate the role of advertising in this relationship.