‘Cyber shaming’ is turning teens teetotal
Young people between the ages of 16 to 24 have stopped drinking completely in a bid to avoid being photographed drunk and “cyber shamed” on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
The number of young binge drinkers has fallen from 29% to 18%According to the National Office of Statistics, the number of drinkers in this age demographic has declined; numbers of those choosing to remain alcohol free are up from 19% in 2005 to 27% in 2013.
In addition, the number of young people partaking in binge-drinking – classified as drinking more than eight units for men and six units for women on one day in the previous week – has fallen sharply, from 29% to 18%.
Drinkaware reports that tougher rules on off-licences, bars and supermarkets selling alcohol to under-21s may have been a contributing factor to decline in drinking.
Spokesman Kelly O’Sullivan told the Daily Mail: “We’ve also seen something called ‘cyber-shame’. Young people who spend a lot of time online are quite happy to tag photos of their friends drunk but are more concerned about being tagged themselves. This might curb their behaviour.”
Earlier this year, a study claimed that alcohol producers are using social media to “aggressively” target young consumers and blur the lines between drinking culture and sporting culture.
