Social Media Constructions of Alcohol as Emotional Coping and Social Connection in Ghana: Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background Alcohol is a leading contributor to disease and injury worldwide; yet, it remains embedded in cultural practices associated with pleasure, social connection, and emotional relief. While global research has documented both the epidemiological burden and the social meanings of drinking, little is known about how alcohol-related meanings are circulated and normalized within African social media environments. Objective This study explores how alcohol is represented in Ghanaian social media discourse, with particular attention to emotional coping, social interaction, and everyday well-being. Methods The study draws on a qualitative dataset of publicly available user-generated content (N=189) from widely used social media platforms, Facebook and TikTok. It uses discourse analysis within a social constructionist framework, thereby treating language as a site where alcohol-related meanings are produced, negotiated, and circulated on online platforms. Results Alcohol was routinely constructed as a resource for coping with stress, heartbreak, and economic strain, while also functioning as a facilitator of friendship, leisure, and communal belonging. Alcohol was further normalized as part of everyday mood regulation, with users presenting drinking as a means of enhancing relaxation, pleasure, and bodily comfort. A broader commercial-lay hybrid discourse was identified, in which promotional messaging, therapeutic claims, and peer communication became increasingly intertwined. Through these discourses, alcohol was associated with vitality, emotional restoration, and well-being. Conclusions By situating these constructions within Ghana’s broader cultural and digital context, the study demonstrates how global narratives of drinking for self-care and leisure are adapted and recirculated through local social media practices. The study contributes one of the first qualitative analyses of alcohol-related social media discourse in West Africa and highlights the importance of public health communication strategies that engage with culturally meaningful and digitally circulating narratives rather than relying solely on risk-based messaging.