Table 1 Summary of the studies included in the systematic review, characteristics, main findings and conclusions
From: Advertising of foods and beverages in social media aimed at children: high exposure and low control
Number of articles | Authors/ year | Name of study | Journal and citation | Design | Nationality | Number of participants | Age | Outcomes | Results | Future line of research |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fleming-Milici & Harris/2020 Adolescents’ engagement with unhealthy food and beverage brands on social media [6] | Adolescents’ engagement with unhealthy food and beverage brands on social media | Appetite | Cross-sectional online survey of | USA | 1564 adolescents | 13–17 | Teen engagement on social media with food/beverage brands, sociodemographic differences in the level of engagement, and relationships between engagement and screen time | 70% of teens reported engaging with any food/beverage brand on social media (between 1 and 48) and 35% engaged with more than 5 brands. About half reported interacting with fast food brands (54% of participants), sugary drinks (50%), sweets (46%), and snacks (45%), while only 7% reported interacting with all other food categories. / Beverage brands | Future research should assess the activities that adolescents engage in when they spend time on other screens. The results of this study also suggest that time spent on TV viewing and other types of screens should not be combined into a single media use variable Research is also needed to understand the underlying reasons for high levels of social media brand engagement by some groups, including Black, less-acculturated Hispanic, and younger adolescents |
2 | Murphy et al./2020 [40] | See, Like, Share, Remember: Adolescents' Responses to Unhealthy-, Healthy- and Non-Food Advertising in social media | Int J Environ Res Public Health | Questions answered based on the free recall of the brand and recognition | Ireland | 151 adolescents | 13–17 | Teen Responses to Unhealthy, Healthy, and Non-Food Advertising on social media | Compared to unhealthy foods, 5 out of 6 measures: teens were more likely to want to "share" unhealthy posts; rated peers more positively when they had unhealthy posts in their feeds; recalled and recognized a greater number of unhealthy food brands; and seen unhealthy advertising posts for longer | Future areas of exploration are links between social responses to food marketing (sharing and peer assessment) and consumption patterns |
3 | Rummo et al./2020 [8] | Examining the Relationship between Youth-Targeted Food Marketing Expenditures and the Demographics of Social Media Followers | Int J Environ Res Public Health | Purchase of Demographics Pro data to characterize the demographics of Twitter and Instagram users who followed 27 of the most hyped fast food, snack and beverage brands in 2019 | USA | - | - | Determine how many teens follow food/beverage brands on Instagram and Twitter and examine associations between the brands' youth-targeted marketing practices and teen follow-up percentages | An estimated 6.2 million teens followed the selected brands. A higher% of teens followed the accounts of the selected brands (9.2%) compared to any Twitter account (1.2%) (p < 0.001), but not Instagram. A higher% of teens followed sugary beverage brands (7.9%) versus low-calorie beverage brands (4.3%) on Instagram (p = 0.02), but we observed the opposite pattern for adults on Twitter and Instagram | Future studies should explore similar research questions using YouTube, which has a higher percentage of adolescent users relative to Instagram and Twitter |
4 | Vandevijvere et al./2017 [43] | Unhealthy food marketing to New Zealand children and adolescents through the internet | New Zealand medical association | Analysis of internet traffic data from January 2014 was acquired from AC Nielsen to identify the largest amount of Popular websites (n = 110) among children and adolescents | New Zealand | 70 food brands | 6 a 17 | Measure the impact of the type of publication (advertising, fan, events, information and promotion) on two interaction metrics: likes and comments | Compared to traditional media, the Internet allows food vendors to use techniques to interact directly with children. While the range of marketing techniques and features identified on food brand websites was extensive, the most popular websites among children and teens were non-food-related, and the scope of food marketing on those websites was low. In addition, it is recommended to evaluate the marketing of food to children through social media and other digital media | Additional assessment of food marketing to children and adolescents through social and other digital media is crucial, since companies may have shifted their marketing efforts to those new media |
5 | Thaichon & Quach/2016 [42] | Online marketing communications and childhood’s intention to consume unhealthy food | Australasian Marketing Journal | Qualitative, inductive approach to data collection using a sample of Australian children who use social network sites and their parents | Australia | 30 adolescents | 11–16 | Impact of online advertising on social networking sites with the intention of children to consume fast food in Australia | It was found that fast food ads on social media sites could manipulate the young audience in terms of likelihood of purchase, opinions about fast food, and eating habits The results of the interviews indicated that peer pressure is an important element of online communications on social media. By showing their ads to a group of young consumers, companies can create a sense of socialization and associate their product with a community. This study is one of the first to consider general aspects of children's perception of marketing communications on social media sites in the context of the fast-food industry | A possible opportunity for future research is to investigate whether online communications on social networking sites can alter children’s actual behavior. In addition, it would be interesting to examine the changing patterns of children’s attitude and behavior toward fast food through longitudinal loyalty |
6 | Boelsen-Robinson et al./2016 [41] | Digital marketing of unhealthy foods to Australian children and adolescents | Health Promotion International | Media audit for three food and beverage brands / Facebook, websites and mobile phone apps from three brands | Australia | (McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Cadbury Dairy Milk) | – | New Media Audit for Three Food and Beverage Brands in Australia | it was found that although all promotional activities technically complied with self-regulatory codes (usually due to media-specific age restrictions) it appeared to employ unhealthy food or beverage marketing aimed at children. Brands are using engaging content through new media targeting children and teens to promote unhealthy foods and beverages | Future studies should examine the impact of these media on purchasing, consumption and preferences of youth. Furthermore, the unique aspects of marketing via new media, such as viral marketing, should be examined to determine their effect on behaviour |
7 | Freeman et al./2014 [12] | Digital Junk: Food and Beverage Marketing on Facebook Becky | American Journal of Public Health | Content analysis of the marketing techniques used / Facebook | Australia | 27 Facebook pages | – | the quantity, scope and nature of energy-dense and nutrient-poor food marketing on Facebook was assessed | By using the interactive and social aspects of Facebook to market products, energy-dense, nutrient-poor food brands leverage users' social media and expand the reach and personal relevance of their marketing messages | Future studies should look at young adults. this group appears to be a highly desirable target population for food marketing, and limited research, resources, and policy action have been directed in this age group. Emerging adulthood (ages 18 to 25) is largely overlooked in establishing long-term health behavior patterns |