Citation

Laws R, Hunt G, Antin TMJ. Nord. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 2018; 35(4): 288-303.

Affiliation

Prevention Research Center, Oakland, US.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Walter de Gruyter)

DOI

10.1177/1455072518781998

PMID

30245584

PMCID

PMC6146389

Abstract

This methodological paper aims to describe the use of comparative social media platforms within a Photo Elicitation (PE) activity as part of a multi-method interview-based study on the gendered meanings of alcohol intoxication among young adults (age 18-25, n = 200). Early interviews revealed social media as a particularly engaging topic for participants, and discussions of social media exposed relevant issues that often were not discussed in other sections of the interview guide. By embedding photos of young people drinking within three social media platforms with photo-sharing capabilities - Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook - we elicited narrative data revealing important aspects of the meanings of intoxication and providing information on how participants manage and judge drinking behaviours shared through online Social Networking Systems (SNS). Given that social media use and photo-sharing are so common, familiar, and endemic among young people, to ignore this feature of contemporary social interaction would have limited our exploration of meanings of intoxication. We suggest that embedding existing methods, like photo-elicitation, to social media contexts that are salient for youth may be a valuable strategy for providing a more comprehensive approach for investigating contemporary social issues.

Language: en

Keywords

Photo elicitation; alcohol intoxication; gender; qualitative methods; social media; young adults