Time to ‘Wine’: A Content Analysis Investigating How Social Media Influencers Refer to Alcohol Use in Instagram’s Feed Posts and Stories

This exploratory content analysis examines how well-known social media influencers (SMIs) refer to alcohol in their Instagram stories and feed messages. Guided by the attention, retention, and motivation processes of social cognitive theory, we explore the occurrence and frequency of alcohol depictions, product centrality (background vs. foreground), the type of use (implicit vs. explicit), and behavioral incentives (positive vs. negative outcomes). Stories and feed messages from 120 SMIs were coded over a four-week period. Four conclusions were drawn. (1) The majority of SMIs share alcohol in their feed messages, and even more do so in stories. (2) SMIs depict a larger number of alcohol references in stories than in feed posts. This, however, reflects a general trend whereby SMIs use ephemeral messages more often to share any type of content. (3) SMIs showcase alcohol use in an attention-grabbing way, independent of the message type under consideration. They emphasize the positive outcomes related to alcohol use and foreground the beverages in half of their alcohol depictions. (4) Some alcohol depictions from SMIs contain a clear brand name or logo, potentially indicating that these references are commercially driven. However, these depictions oftentimes do not explicitly reveal a partnership with the alcohol industry. Based on the findings, practical guidelines for media literacy interventions and future research are formulated.