The purpose of this study was to identify whether different aspects of social media use were associated with substance use among middle- and high school-aged youth. Participants were recruited from four northeast U.S. middle schools and invited to complete an online survey in fall 2019 and fall 2020.
The researchers found that seeing a social media post about drugs/alcohol in the past 12 months was significantly associated with higher odds of ever using alcohol, cannabis, e-cigarettes, and multiple substances. The total number of social media sites ever used was significantly associated with higher odds of ever using cannabis, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and multiple substances. Checking social media every hour or more was significantly associated with higher odds of ever using alcohol. A higher problematic internet use score was significantly associated with higher odds of ever using cannabis, e-cigarettes, and multiple substances.
These findings support the need for substance use prevention and social media literacy education and screening to begin early, ideally in elementary school, before youth are using social media and substances.
This study was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development under award number R15HD094281-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
