At home and online during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship to alcohol consumption in a national sample of U.S. adults

  1. Karen G. Chartier
  2. Jeanine P. D. Guidry
  3. Catherine A. Lee
  4. Thomas D. Buckley

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Abstract

The current study aimed to understand the links between social media use and alcohol consumption during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

Data were from the national Understanding American Study, a probability-based Internet panel weighted to represent the U.S. population. Subjects (N = 5874; 51% female) were adults, 18 years and older, who completed a March survey (wave 1) and a follow-up survey one month later (wave 3). Analyses assessed the relationships of social media use at wave 1 with wave 3 alcohol use frequency, accounting for wave 1 alcohol use frequency and the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample. Two alcohol use change variables were also assessed as outcomes–increased and decreased alcohol use between waves. We considered the effect of work status changes (working/studying from home and job loss) as potential moderators.

Results

Twitter and Instagram users and users of multiple social media platforms, but not Facebook users, drank more frequently at wave 3. The results were similar when assessing relationships between social media use and increased alcohol use between waves. For Instagram users, more frequent alcohol use at wave 3 was at least partially attributed to drinking frequency at wave 1. Additionally, working/studying from home at wave 3 and employment (rather than job loss) were associated with greater consumption. The interaction effect between Twitter use and working/studying from home was statistically significant in association with alcohol use frequency at wave 3, as was the interaction effect between using multiple platforms and working/studying from home in association with decreased alcohol use between waves.

Discussion

Exposure to content about COVID-19 and increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic may have contributed to more frequent alcohol use for some social media users. The study of public health messaging via social media to change alcohol use behaviors during traumatic events is warranted.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.1371/journal.pone.0259947
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.09.20.20197608: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variableAbout half of respondents were female, and the majority were non-Hispanic White, married, had at least some college education, were employed, and 40 years of age or older.

    Table 2: Resources

    Experimental Models: Organisms/Strains
    SentencesResources
    About half of respondents were female, and the majority were non-Hispanic White, married, had at least some college education, were employed, and 40 years of age or older.
    non-Hispanic White
    suggested: None

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Strengths and limitations: This study has some unique strengths. Because of the timeliness of the UAS data collections, we were able to use current data on social media use and alcohol consumption during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the depth and breadth of which was not readily available via other sources. Self-reported alcohol use and social distancing behaviors were available across two time points, which allowed for an analysis of patterns of and changes in behavior. The analysis was also completed in a weighted sample, making the results generalizable to the U.S. population; however, the focus on older groups and individuals more likely to be engaged in post-secondary education may make the results less generalizable to more vulnerable groups and those under 18 years of age, for whom social media use and alcohol consumption habits and impacts may differ. This study is not without limitations. The UAS gathered information on the frequency of alcohol use, but not the amount consumed; as a result, it is clear how many days per week individuals self-reported consumption of alcohol, but not the overall quantity of consumption. Social media use was also not categorized by function, so different populations may have used social media for different purposes, the content of which (e.g., whether alcohol-related) was not included in the study. Implications for prevention: Regardless of the cause of increased alcohol use, even a moderate increase can have severe econom...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.09.20.20197608v1 on medRxiv