Their feed & what they eat: the extent, nature and impact of social media food marketing targeted to adolescents.

Summary

Marketing communication strategies have changed as a result of digitalization. This has implications for the food marketing tactics adolescents are exposed to, as this age group is among the most active users of online and social media platforms. According to experts interviewed for this thesis, adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to unhealthy social media food marketing (SMFM), and they should be protected against it through stricter policies. This thesis shows that adolescents are exposed to large amounts of unhealthy SMFM, posted by entertainment channels, peers, and influencers. Adolescents enjoy watching this content and do not perceive it as marketing. Sponsorship disclosure helps adolescents to recognise and understand marketing and persuasive intent of short-format influencer marketing videos, but more research should investigate ways to make them critical and resist. The results of this thesis contribute to the emerging field of SMFM, showing that the social media environment impacts the nature and extent of adolescents’ exposure to, and their appreciation and awareness of food marketing.