We all have the right to use digital technology safely.
But every day millions of people across Australia, including children, are exposed to relentless digital marketing tactics designed to target their personal vulnerabilities.
This is especially concerning when harmful and addictive products, like alcohol, are being pushed online.
We know exposing children and young people to alcoholic product marketing increases the likelihood they will start drinking earlier and drink at risky levels.
We also know the current online advertising model allows companies to target people based on purchasing data, creating a cycle that makes it difficult if you’re cutting back or have experienced alcohol dependence – the more alcohol you have purchased, the more ads you will be served to trigger your drinking.
Currently there are limited protections in Australia to restrict pervasive marketing tactics. We need strong checks and balances to ensure our families and communities are kept safe from harmful digital marketing practices by alcohol companies.
So many Australians have experienced harm from alcohol sold on digital apps and delivered in as little as 20 minutes, without proper checks and balances. Do you have a story to share? Please get in touch.
We launched a new report – ‘Alcohol advertising on social media: a 1-year snapshot’ – which reveals how alcohol companies ply our community with thousands of ads on our social media platforms.
Watch Associate Professor Nicholas Carah, who is part of the research team, talk about this report and why governments need to do more to protect Australians from relentless, targeted alcohol marketing.
We launched a new report – ‘Alcohol advertising on social media: a 1-year snapshot’ – which reveals how alcohol companies ply our community with thousands of ads on our social media platforms.
Watch Associate Professor Nicholas Carah, who is part of the research team, talk about this report and why governments need to do more to protect Australians from relentless, targeted alcohol marketing.
Every day we are bombarded with alcohol advertising. Have you experienced alcohol advertising online? Share how this has affected you, your family or your community.
(By sharing your experience, you accept FARE’s Privacy Policy and agree to receive occasional emails from us. When using quotes from your submission in policy reports, on our website or on social media, FARE will attribute the quote as First Name, State.)
Every day we are bombarded with alcohol advertising. Have you experienced alcohol advertising online? Share how this has affected you, your family or your community.
FARE has partnered with The University of Queensland to undertake a three-year study to better understand how young people are targeted by alcohol companies via social media. The study is using novel computational and machine learning methods to collect and analyse alcohol marketing from more than 480 alcohol pages on social media. The research is supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project grant.
FARE is a partner on the #DigitalYouth project being led by the Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE) and the Institute for Health Transformation. The research will use novel methods to develop the first thorough snapshot of youth exposure and engagement with digital marketing in Australia. The research is supported with a grant from The Ian Potter Foundation.
This article was first published on Women’s Agenda. As the curtain open on this year’s footy season, parents across the country are bracing for the
Public health organisations and community advocates are calling on Australia’s media regulator to use its review of television alcohol advertising rules to introduce stronger safeguards, saying current regulations fail to protect the community from harm and fall short of public expectations.
Right now, there is a key opportunity to make a pivotal change to how alcohol can be advertised on TV.
Australians deserve to have a say in the role that alcohol plays in their lives and communities.
At FARE, we want to amplify community voices about the impact of alcohol, to make sure people are put first when it comes to decisions that affect their health.
With your support, local advocates and grassroots organisations can create the change they want to see in their communities.
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