Posts of Influencers in Social Networks: Beneficial or Harmful to Children’s Health?

Background

With respect to ongoing debates and policy actions in Europe regarding the prohibition of children’s access to social networks, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of various health risk factors in posts created by the most popular Lithuanian influencers on social networks.

Material and Methods

All publicly available posts (12433 in total) created by 39 most popular Lithuanian influencers on Facebook and Instagram in 2022 and 2024 were included (6425 posts published in 2022, 6008 – in 2024). The content analysis of the posts was performed and information about various health risk factors was registered. The distribution of these factors was assessed according to time periods and influencers’ gender.

Results

Alcoholic-like beverages were depicted in 4.7% of the posts, smoking – in 0.5%, unhealthy foods – in 20.2%, bullying – in 3.8%, luxury – in 19.9%, sexuality – in 9.3%, aesthetic procedures – in 23.1%. In 2024, the depiction of alcoholic beverages, unhealthy food, luxury and sexuality increased (respectively, 6.4% vs. 3.2%, 21.1% vs. 19.4%, 26.9% vs. 13.2%, 9.8% vs. 8.8%, p ≤ 0.050). Men influencers more frequently depicted smoking, bullying and luxury in their posts, while females’ influencers more frequently depicted unhealthy foods, sexuality and aesthetic procedures (respectively, 0.9% vs. 0.3%, 5.4% vs. 2.5%, 22.5% vs. 17.6% and 27.5% vs. 11.6%, 12.1% vs. 6.0%, 34.9% vs. 9.2%, p ≤ 0.050).

Conclusions

The prevalence of depiction of various health risk factors varied from one in two hundred to a quarter of all posts. Aesthetic procedures, unhealthy food, and luxury were the most frequently depicted health risk factors. In 2024, the depiction of alcoholic-like beverages, unhealthy foods, luxury, and sexuality increased. Male influencers more often depict smoking, bullying, and luxury, whereas female influencers more often depict unhealthy foods, sexuality, and aesthetic procedures.

Key messages

• Public health interventions should take into account that influencers on social networks often depict various health risk factors, most often - aesthetic procedures, unhealthy foods, and luxury.

• In 2024, an increase in the prevalence of depiction of alcoholic-like beverages, unhealthy foods, luxury, and sexuality was observed with multiple differences between genders.