Unhealthy Digital Marketing Among Aboriginal People in Australia: Findings From the #DigitalMob Pilot Study.
4 affiliations
- 1Deakin First Nations Health, Institute for Health Transformation, Faculty of Health, Geelong, Australia.
- 2Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia.
- 3Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
- 4Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, Brisbane, Australia.
Abstract
Issue addressed
This study aimed to quantify Aboriginal adults' exposure to digital marketing of unhealthy food and beverages, alcohol, gambling, tobacco and e-cigarettes; analyse demographic differences in marketing exposure; and describe the nature of digital marketing reaching Aboriginal audiences, including brands, platforms and marketing tactics.Methods
Thirty-one Aboriginal adults were asked to record their screens, capturing approximately one-third of their usual daily screen time (maximum 60 min). Recordings were analysed using SCANNER, an automated system trained to detect unhealthy commodity marketing. Demographic data and usual online behaviours were collected via an online survey. Descriptive statistics, a post hoc Mann-Whitney U test and a Fisher-Freeman-Halton extension of Fisher's Exact test were used to analyse differences in marketing detections.Results
Most participants (n = 29/31, 94%) were exposed to unhealthy digital marketing. Of the 587 marketing instances detected, unhealthy food brands were most common (47%), followed by gambling (28%), alcohol (15%), sweetened beverages (9%) and tobacco (1%). No e-cigarette marketing was detected. Estimated daily exposure to unhealthy digital marketing was 40.4 (IQR: 11-92) instances per day. Male participants, aged 30 years and under, recorded significantly more marketing detections overall and for unhealthy food, alcohol and gambling brands.Conclusion
Findings highlight the pervasiveness of unhealthy food and beverage, gambling and alcohol marketing in the everyday digital lives of Aboriginal participants. SO WHAT?: Comprehensive regulation of unhealthy digital marketing is urgently required to advance Aboriginal health.
Related
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BibTeX
@article{browne2026unhealthy,
title = {{Unhealthy Digital Marketing Among Aboriginal People in Australia: Findings From the #DigitalMob Pilot Study.}},
author = {Jennifer Browne and Nichole Lister and Kathryn Backholer and Karen Hill and Alessandro Crocetti and Troy Walker and Sharon Atkinson-Briggs and Navoda Liyana Pathirana and Beau Cubillo and Florentine Martino and Simone Sherriff and Lee Yeomans and Fiona Mitchell and Stephanie Thow and Phuong Nguyen and Jaithri Ananthapavan and Steve Allender and Yin Paradies},
journal = {Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/hpja.70270},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42963140},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Unhealthy Digital Marketing Among Aboriginal People in Australia: Findings From the #DigitalMob Pilot Study.
AU - Jennifer Browne
AU - Nichole Lister
AU - Kathryn Backholer
AU - Karen Hill
AU - Alessandro Crocetti
AU - Troy Walker
AU - Sharon Atkinson-Briggs
AU - Navoda Liyana Pathirana
AU - Beau Cubillo
AU - Florentine Martino
AU - Simone Sherriff
AU - Lee Yeomans
AU - Fiona Mitchell
AU - Stephanie Thow
AU - Phuong Nguyen
AU - Jaithri Ananthapavan
AU - Steve Allender
AU - Yin Paradies
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals
DO - 10.1002/hpja.70270
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42963140
AB - Issue addressed This study aimed to quantify Aboriginal adults' exposure to digital marketing of unhealthy food and beverages, alcohol, gambling, tobacco and e-cigarettes; analyse demographic differences in marketing exposure; and describe the nature of digital marketing reaching Aboriginal audiences, including brands, platforms and marketing tactics.Methods Thirty-one Aboriginal adults were asked to record their screens, capturing approximately one-third of their usual daily screen time (maximum 60 min). Recordings were analysed using SCANNER, an automated system trained to detect unhealthy commodity marketing. Demographic data and usual online behaviours were collected via an online survey. Descriptive statistics, a post hoc Mann-Whitney U test and a Fisher-Freeman-Halton extension of Fisher's Exact test were used to analyse differences in marketing detections.Results Most participants (n = 29/31, 94%) were exposed to unhealthy digital marketing. Of the 587 marketing instances detected, unhealthy food brands were most common (47%), followed by gambling (28%), alcohol (15%), sweetened beverages (9%) and tobacco (1%). No e-cigarette marketing was detected. Estimated daily exposure to unhealthy digital marketing was 40.4 (IQR: 11-92) instances per day. Male participants, aged 30 years and under, recorded significantly more marketing detections overall and for unhealthy food, alcohol and gambling brands.Conclusion Findings highlight the pervasiveness of unhealthy food and beverage, gambling and alcohol marketing in the everyday digital lives of Aboriginal participants. SO WHAT?: Comprehensive regulation of unhealthy digital marketing is urgently required to advance Aboriginal health.
SN - 1036-1073
ER -