MADD Teen Influencer
April 2024
Various reasons play into the influence alcohol can have on young people’s lives. Peer pressure, stress and social anxiety, curiosity, and even genetics are all factors of why teenagers drink. The media, especially social media, and clever marketing ploys geared towards teens continue to manipulate how teenagers view alcohol consumption. Everything from glamorizing drinking on television shows to social media influencers portraying drinking in a positive or attractive light, guides teenagers into making poor choices. Alcohol advertisers spent more than two billion dollars last year on marketing products for radio, print, television, and live events. This kind of advertising continues to reach age groups considerably younger than drinking age. According to the CDC, youth in the United States are 96% more likely to see an advertisement promoting alcohol instead of discouraging underage drinking.
On a personal note, during a recent trip to the grocery store with my mom, I noticed a section near the chip aisle advertising what looked like colorful juice boxes for children. Upon closer inspection, these were not meant for kids but for adults at over 11% alcohol. It was disturbing to me how much they looked like the non-alcoholic juice boxes I used to bring to grade school and how easily they could be mistaken for such. Another marketing strategy called alcopop is a term used for a drink combination of alcohol and soda pop--but the actual beverage may not contain any soda at all.This was originally designed as a segue for millennials who liked sugary sodas in the world of alcohol.
Dr. Matthew Rossheim, an assistant professor of global and community health in Mason’s College of Health and Human Services commented on the serious issues surrounding these beverages. “These new products constitute a unique danger to youth. Yet our findings clearly show that young people are not getting the message about how much they can be affected by them.” With their colorful labels, tempting flavors, and containers that look like children’s juice boxes, alcopops directly target young people by advertising with animation, popular music, and humor to bring in potential drinkers. They also use popular brands and familiar characters such as those from the Marvel Comics. For example, Mike’s Hard Beverage company collaborated with the Deadpool 2
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