Introduction
Energy drinks are beverages that are advertised as having the ability to rapidly improve a consumer’s alertness and performance (see Ruis & Scherr, 2018). Guarana, a tropical plant with highly caffeinated seeds, is one herbal supplement frequently found in well-known energy drinks (Heckman et al., 2010; Seifert et al., 2011). The beverages’ high caffeine content provides the perceived energy by boosting feelings of alertness during tired states, while the carbohydrate sources, typically glucose and sucrose, provide the pathways required for physiological energy (Campbell et al., 2013; Ruis & Scherr, 2018).
Adolescent energy drink consumption has dramatically increased in the last ten years, despite a decline in the mean youth caffeine consumption over the previous twenty years (Mesirow & Welsh, 2015; Trans et al., 2016). Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 typically consume the most energy drinks among young people (Drewnowski & Rehm, 2016). About 25% of regular energy drink drinkers reported using at least one beverage daily, and another 25% of younger adolescents reported consuming two or more energy drinks daily, even though soda continues to be the primary source of caffeine consumption among youth overall (Arria et al., 2014).
In recent years, energy drinks have surged in popularity among African youth, becoming symbolic of a fast-paced, hyper-stimulated lifestyle. With flashy branding, aggressive marketing, and promises of instant vitality, these beverages have moved beyond mere refreshment to become embedded in youth culture, from exam halls to nightclubs, football fields to recording studios (Buxton & Hagon, 2012; Saku et al., 2020; Visram et al., 2016). However, beneath the sleek cans lies a cocktail of caffeine, sugar, and stimulants that may carry significant health and social risks. More troubling are the emerging security concerns linked to this trend: heightened aggression, risky behaviour, peer pressure, illicit trade, and even their misuse as mixers with narcotics and alcohol. These issues are compounded by weak regulatory systems, limited public awareness, and a growing informal market. In many African urban spaces, energy drinks have become more than a health concern; they are a socio-cultural phenomenon with potentially destabilising consequences.
This paper explores how the consumption and cultural adoption of energy drinks by youth intersect with broader security issues. It investigates the socio-economic, psychological, and spatial implications of energy drink use in Africa, particularly how they shape identity, intensify vulnerabilities, and reproduce cycles of insecurity. This study contributes to growing debates on non-traditional security threats and youth health in African contexts.
Methodology
To guide this analysis, the study employs the security contagion framework, which conceptualises the spread of insecurity through behavioural transmission, social influence, and environmental exposure (Martínez et al., 2023; Riggio & Riggio, 2023). Security contagion, as used here, refers to the way risky behaviours like excessive energy drink consumption can be adopted by youth through peer networks, media portrayal, and normalised cultural practices. It acknowledges that insecurities in one domain of life can spill over into others, creating a chain reaction of vulnerabilities. This framework is operationalised through three interrelated lenses: social security contagion, economic security contagion and psychological security contagion.
The first theme, social security contagion, focuses on how peer influence and social networks play a role in spreading high-risk behaviours tied to energy drink consumption. In urban youth spaces such as university campuses, sports clubs, and nightlife scenes, energy drinks have become symbolic of masculinity, performance, rebellion, and social belonging. These settings often normalise the mixing of energy drinks with alcohol or other substances, reinforcing a culture where risky consumption is not only accepted but expected (see Nordt et al., 2017; Sampasa-Kanyinga et al., 2018). Social media platforms further amplify these behaviours, portraying them as desirable or fashionable, thereby influencing wider peer groups and contributing to the behavioural spread.
The second theme, economic security contagion, explores how financial pressures and precarious youth livelihoods intersect with energy drink use. Many young people working in gig economies or studying under intense academic pressure resort to energy drinks to sustain performance, often without awareness of long-term health implications. Marketing strategies by energy drink companies also play a critical role, targeting low-income youth with cheap pricing, aspirational imagery, and mass distribution (see Harris & Munsell, 2015). These dynamics create patterns of economic vulnerability, where regular consumption becomes a costly habit and exacerbates financial strain, especially among already economically marginalised groups.
Lastly, psychological security contagion examines the emotional and mental health implications of energy drink use, particularly how these effects ripple through youth communities. Studies have linked excessive consumption to heightened anxiety, insomnia, irritability, and impulsiveness, all of which can influence behaviour within peer groups (see Campbell et al., 2013; Harris & Munsell, 2015). When one individual’s coping mechanism becomes normalised within a social setting, others may adopt similar behaviours, contributing to a collective erosion of psychological well-being. Media and advertising campaigns, which often glamorise hyperactivity, confidence, and risk-taking, further shape youth attitudes toward energy drinks while downplaying the psychological costs.
The review focuses on literature from Africa, where energy drink markets are expanding rapidly and youth culture is highly dynamic. The review draws from publications dated between 2017 and 2024 to ensure contemporary relevance. Sources were gathered from academic databases such as JSTOR, Scopus, PubMed, and African Journals Online (AJOL), as well as national health surveys and reputable news outlets. A thematic analysis approach was employed to identify patterns, contradictions, and gaps in literature across the three contagion categories. In all, 9 articles were selected for the discussion.
By applying the security contagion framework to the issue of energy drink consumption, this methodology offers a multidimensional understanding of how a seemingly personal choice can evolve into a social phenomenon with broader implications for youth security in African societies.
Results
Discussion
The application of the security contagion framework to the findings from the nine selected studies reveals that youth consumption of energy drinks across African contexts is shaped by layered insecurities that manifest through social, economic, and psychological contagion. Social contagion is most visible in how peer influence and media representations of energy drinks shape consumption behaviour. In Fernandes et al.’s (2020) study on university students in South Africa, energy drinks were frequently consumed during academic and social activities. The behaviour appeared to be normalised through peer networks where energy drinks were not only a beverage choice but a social artefact that marked inclusion. Similarly, Stacey et al. (2017) documented how South African television advertisements promoted energy drinks using athletic and masculine imagery, which adolescents internalised, especially those with existing insecurities about self-image. Ezemenahi et al. (2024) further affirmed this through findings that university students in Nigeria consumed energy drinks to impress peers or conform to social expectations, indicating a pattern where consumption spread through group validation rather than individual need.
Economic contagion was particularly evident in studies where energy drink consumption was linked to labour, productivity, or affordability. In Kobik and Aryee’s (2023) study of Ghanaian youth, economic motivations were key. Young people engaged in informal employment or long hours of study turned to energy drinks as affordable tools to stay awake and functional. These consumption patterns were not isolated acts but became normalised through peer observations and economic necessity, demonstrating how structural economic pressure spread behavioural choices. In Zambia, Mutabazi et al. (2019) reported similar findings where students and working youth consumed energy drinks to cope with demanding schedules, again highlighting how economic precarity shaped and sustained group behaviours. The cheap cost and widespread availability of energy drinks made them a logical choice in low-income settings, but this accessibility also facilitated a form of economic contagion, where one person’s use to cope with economic hardship easily transferred to others in similar conditions.
Psychological contagion was captured in the documented physical and mental health outcomes that circulated within youth populations. Ibrahim et al. (2021) found that students who regularly consumed energy drinks in Nigeria reported insomnia, palpitations, and mood swings. These symptoms were not only experienced in isolation but discussed among peers, some of whom took up consumption with awareness of both the stimulative benefits and the associated risks. This mirrors Mutabazi et al.’s (2019) finding that energy drink consumers in Zambia acknowledged short-term focus and alertness benefits while also recounting adverse emotional effects such as agitation and anxiety. The decision to continue consumption, despite known risks, reflects a form of psychological contagion, where maladaptive coping strategies spread within groups under emotional or academic stress. Additionally, in Congo, adolescents studied by Kitenge et al. (2023) used energy drinks alongside alcohol as a way to manage emotional distress or boredom, pointing to a diffusion of psychologically harmful practices.
In each case, the findings reflect how behaviours are not confined to individual needs but shaped through interaction, mimicry, and the reproduction of coping strategies in response to insecurity. Socially, young people model each other’s habits. Economically, they adopt consumption strategies that appear efficient in precarious circumstances. Psychologically, they absorb not only the products but also the rationales and emotional frameworks that accompany them. The results, therefore, affirm that the spread of energy drink use among youth in African countries is best understood as a contagion of insecurity, one that transmits through peer behavior, economic adaptation, and emotional coping, rather than just personal preference.
Conclusion
The results drawn from the nine selected studies clearly demonstrate that energy drink consumption among African youth is not merely a matter of individual choice but a patterned response to social, economic, and psychological insecurities. Through the lens of security contagion, the findings show how behaviours circulate across youth populations through peer imitation, media messaging, and normalised routines within educational and informal labour spaces. Social contagion was evident in how young people consumed energy drinks as part of shared experiences, often to gain acceptance or reinforce social status. Economic contagion appeared in the widespread reliance on energy drinks to meet academic and labour demands, particularly under precarious financial conditions. Psychological contagion was most visible in how consumption practices spread despite acknowledged health risks, with young people internalising energy drinks as necessary tools to manage stress, fatigue, or emotional distress.
What emerges is a need to rethink youth health and well-being in terms that are not just biomedical or behavioural, but structural and relational. Interventions should include stricter regulation of advertising and sales, especially near schools and campuses; public education campaigns to raise awareness about the risks of energy drinks; and programs that offer alternative forms of peer support and stress relief. Additionally, governments and civil society actors must engage with the broader socio-economic conditions unemployment, academic pressure, and social isolation that make youth susceptible to such forms of behavioural contagion. Only by addressing these root causes can we break the cycle of security contagion and support healthier, more secure youth futures across the continent.
Source: CISA Analyst
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