Teens who drink alcohol spend more time on social media computers than their peers who don’t. 264 teenagers took part in an anonymous online survey. The study was conducted by Dr. Jennifer Epstein, assistant professor of public health at Cornell College of Medicine, Welsh. She argues that a specific link between computer and alcohol addiction has not yet been established, but one thing is clear: children are easily influenced by various advertisements for alcoholic beverages on the Internet.
According to a national study, more than half of parents installed special filters on their computers to keep their children safe from the harmful effects of online advertising. But some parents still have no control over their children. The Cornell Welsh Study included adolescents living in the United States, aged 13 to 17 years. The results showed that young people who drank alcohol in the last month spent more time on the computer than those who did not drink at all.
Alcohol consumption is also associated with the most frequent use of social media and downloading music and movies. However, there is no close connection between video games and alcoholic beverages. To move forward, Dr. Epstein said more concrete data is needed that show a direct link between computer use and drinking in adolescents. Including it is important to take into account the degree and duration of alcohol consumption, the professor says.