Irish teenagers are being exposed to very large amounts of unhealthy food marketing online with estimates they view up to 19 clear-cut posts promoting unhealthy food on average every hour they use social media. A study commissioned by Safefood — the all-Ireland food safety promotion board — estimates teenagers using social media for just two hours per day will be exposed to almost 11,000 unhealthy food marketing posts per year. The report claims industry self-regulation is not working based on the very high levels of exposure to unhealthy food marketing posts identified by the research. The study also revealed that teenagers spend considerably longer looking at food marketing posts by influencers than paid advertisements. On average, they spent 15 seconds viewing the content of food marketing posts by influencers compared to three seconds for regular ads.

Source: Irish Examiner February 24, 2026 16:11 UTC