Social media influencers and adolescents' health: A scoping review of the research field.

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become an important source of health information for adolescents. However, the lack of expertise and commercial interests of SMIs pose challenges for adolescent health. To gain a better understanding of these challenges, this scoping review aimed to synthesize existing research on the role of SMIs in adolescent health. Using the PRISMA-ScR approach, we conducted a comprehensive search of eight databases and screened articles based on predefined criteria. The final sample included 51 articles published between 2012 and 2022. Results revealed inconsistent definitions and classifications of SMIs. The most common topics included appearance, nutrition, and substance use, while mental and sexual health topics were underrepresented. The ability of SMIs to establish trustworthy relationships with their followers was highlighted in the reviewed studies, shedding light on potential benefits and challenges for adolescent health. However, most studies focused on the negative roles of SMIs, such as the promotion of unrealistic body images, unhealthy diets, substance use, and inaccurate diagnosis and treatment advice. In addition, inappropriate advertising of unhealthy products (e.g., junk food, tobacco products and alcohol) was identified as a major challenge. The reviewed studies identified stricter regulation and improved social media and health literacy as important avenues for policy action. Less attention was given to the potential positive impact of SMIs and how to effectively include them in health promotion campaigns. In addition, the majority of studies were conducted in the Global North and relied on quantitative approaches, resulting in a lack of representation of minority populations and male adolescents.

How (Un-)Healthy are Austrian school food environments? Evidence from focus groups and citizen science.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents face high-choice school food environments that offer plenty of highly processed foods. Processed food producers target young people in their marketing, but there is limited data on the actual food supply inside and in the vicinity of Austrian schools and its impact on adolescent food choices. This study employs an innovative mixed-methods approach to explore adolescents' food choices. METHODS: In Study 1, we conducted a citizen science study, with students as volunteer scientists. The students examined the food supply in and around their schools according to the Austrian food pyramid and categorized 953 food items in 144 food suppliers using photographs and descriptions. In Study 2, we explored students' food preferences in focus groups. We conducted four focus groups at four different schools in Tyrol, with 25 students (11 male, 14 female) between the ages of 12 and 15. We then linked the findings on individual preferences with the documented supply. RESULTS: Study 1 found that the food supply in the investigated schools was predominantly categorized as unhealthy. The students categorized 46% as "unhealthy", 32% as "intermediate", and only 22% as "healthy". Study 2 identified three influential factors in students' food choices: 1) individual factors (such as taste and preferences), 2) social factors (such as mingling with peers), and 3) structural factors (such as physical environment and accessibility). CONCLUSION: The study shows that unhealthy products cater to unhealthy preferences among adolescents and dominate current school food environments. Policies need to address unhealthy school food environments to tackle this issue. Food supplies should be presented in an attractive ways, in fun places where students can mingle and express their identities.

How threat perceptions relate to learning and conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19: Evidence from a panel study.

According to appraisal theory, individuals cope with perceived threats in different ways. If engaging in problem-focused coping, for example, they may seek information useful for eliminating the root cause of the threat. However, during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, people tend to navigate complex information environments marked by high levels of uncertainty. In such contexts, individuals may adopt maladaptive behaviours-for instance, avoiding information or switching to pseudo-epistemic coping-in which they engage with non-scientific explanations. As a consequence, they may learn less from their information environment and become susceptible to conspiracy theories. Against that background, we investigated how threat perceptions relate to learning, believing in conspiracy claims and conspiracy thinking in context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from two-wave panel data, we found that threat perceptions were associated with a decrease in knowledge and an increase in believing conspiracy claims. Taken together, our findings indicate that high levels of threat perceptions in uncertain information environments may impede societal learning and encourage conspiracy beliefs. Thus, although provoking general anxiety may support short-term political goals, including adherence to policy during crises, accumulated threat perceptions may adversely affect citizens' motivation to cooperate in the long term.