Effects of Social Networking Sites Alcohol Advertisement and Ban of alcohol advertisement on Main stream media on Youths Alcohol Drinking Behavior: Evidence from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Measuring the effect of social networking sites advertising of alcohol and ban of advertisement on youth drinking behavior is critical for alcohol manufacturing companies because they are part of the community and must consider the social aspect of their marketing. The study's objective is to describe the effect of advertising and the ban on mass media advertising on the drinking behavior of Addis Ababa’s youth. The research approach was deductive, and the research design was explanatory. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data from 385 respondents using a self-administered data collection system, with 367 valid questionnaires collected and analyzed. These respondents were chosen using a non-probability sampling technique known as judgmental sampling. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation and multiple linear regressions) were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that there are positive and significant relationships between SNS alcohol Ads exposure, message content of SNS alcohol Ads, and drinking behavior, and the study's findings show that ban of alcohol advertising on mass media outlets has almost no effect on the drinking behavior of Addis Ababa’s youths. Finally, this study suggests appropriate actions for companies to strengthen their advertising strategies in order to overcome the market's intense competition without jeopardizing societal well-being, particularly that of youths.