With no prior exposure to them, teenagers have no clue how to deal with a situation involving drugs. They get involved with drugs for many different reasons. For one, peer pressure can take over their extremely impressionable minds and the pressure to fit…
Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as “unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy,” (Jauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives…
Although reality TV is fascinating and full of drama, it still has an enormous effect on today’s youth. Throughout the years reality TV has become popular and it has attracted different age groups. But one group that reality TV attracts would be teens. Now I am not talking about all teens, but some teens do look at the actions of the television stars and think what they’re doing is “amazing”. When teenagers watch reality shows it opens their eyes to a lot of sex, vulgar language, and drugs. Allowing teens to be exposed to this much disapproval behavior is dangerous and can later bring problems later on in life. My best friend younger sister, who is fifteen, is starting to live the life of a reality star. She wakes up early for school, tired, from the previous night. She enjoys staying up all hours of the night just to be able to catch her favorite show, “The Bad Girls Club.” Wanting to be free, and doing whatever she feels like doing. Saying anything she wants to whomever, going out partying with all her friends, open to try drugs (weed), ready to try and have sex. At a young age she wants to do everything like these “bad girls” do. Is it healthy? No, going out every weekend and partying is making her tired. All this “freedom” that she’s getting is making her not want to study for school. But watching these reality shows isn’t healthy for a fifteen year old. According to Mullings “The impact of heavy television viewing and the effects it has on young viewers has been a dominant topic since the 1960s. With the ever-changing landscape of television programming, reality television has become increasingly popular, especially among the pre-teen and teen audiences” (Mullings)…
Teens look up to adults, entertainers, and sports figures. Some have admitted to doing drugs, such as the President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore who has admitted to smoking Marijuana during their past (Levinthal, 2012). Anti-drug campaigns use the media to help discourage young people from doing drugs (Levinthal, 2012). The fight against drug abuse will continue to use the Internet, bill-boards, television, radio, and role models to fight the everlasting drug abuse and addictions in the United States. The sad thing is it continues to be a losing battle among people today.…
Whilst it is important to represent such issues on TV because it can deter a teenager’s curiosity – the programme ‘Skins’ rarely shows any negative consequence of taking drugs. Furthermore, the vulgar language can influence such behaviour in its viewers.…
In 2013 an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older were current illicit drug users. It’s available and accessible for anyone who knows where to get it or whom to talk to about it. Interest will develop in a matter of time. For instance, if one teenager hears a personal drug experience from another student in the school, the person may become curious and try to have a connection. Most teenagers today would believe that the first use of drugs is safe. Although there is no instant addiction with the first try, young persons can tend to experiment further and in a matter of time, anyone can have the euphoric effects of the drugs and may keep seeking it in order to function adequately. The accessibility of the drugs and the curiosity and experimentation of the person are high risk factors that can result in a drug addiction among…
Youth violence and drug abuse has become a major issue in our society today. 1 in 7 teens said they have been in a fight on school property this past year. More and more teens are doing drugs because they see people doing on television or are influenced by their friends.…
In its most current state, television shows force its younger viewers to grow up faster, making younger and younger kids do adult things. These reality shows exemplify things such as sex, drugs, violence, and self-harm. Television producers these days simply have no problem exposing the youth to this rubbish. In fact, the producers are specifically targeting the youth with their unmoral and controversial shows. They often reward the rebel characters with extra TV time or book them for another reality show, while the moral and respectable characters are made out to be boring and hardly ever get rewarded. America keeps asking what is making each generation less and less moral, but they fail to recognize what kinds of examples are being set. Children have not become more influential, they simply have been influenced by worse things. In the past few years, there has been a major change to reality television that diminishes its moral teaching reputation. From music videos of half naked women to reality shows full of betrayal, lies, and more vulgar than most can handle,…
If schools could educate students more on the topic it could help decrease the amount of teens who use drugs. Parents could also talk to teens about the consequences of using drugs. One thing that is being used in schools is the DARE program, unfortunately this is usually taught to students in middle school. Teens might not remember what they learned or don’t think it can harm them if they are not fully aware of the consequences.…
We have been listening to stories about drugs since we were born. We also learned about what kind of drugs exist and how dangerous they are. The word drug has always been a synonym for something forbidden and uncommon. However, years passed and cultures changed. Nowadays, the way of life and thinking look completely different. We cannot follow the development of drugs anymore, and the word drug is something normal and very common, especially among youngsters. If we take this under a microscope, we can see that drugs nowadays became somewhat trendy. How many teenagers smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol? How many teenagers smoke marihuana and do hard drugs like heroin? How many young people die because of drugs? How many times we hear that somebody was taken to a hospital from a big Rave party? Dance drugs, all kind of pills, heroin, crack, cocaine, marihuana, and so forth are all flooding the market, and we cannot control this. In this essay, I will explain why taking drugs became trendy and what causes more and more teenagers to do drugs.…
Teenagers have been abusing drugs for decades with no sign of slowing down. In recent years, the use of drugs has become so common in teens that 78% of teens say they have friends who regularly use drugs ("Drug Guide"). Consequently, teens are now so accustomed to drugs that it is no longer startling to find out that their friends are using drugs. Rappers, singers, and actors nonchalantly doing drugs all over the internet and television lead teenagers to believe that it is okay to do drugs. Many teenagers have lost the idea that drugs are harmful and now believe that drugs are not hurting them. Studies show 90% of all substance abuse disorders begin before the age of 18 ("Tara Conner”). In addition to the amount of drug users that start…
It almost seems that anytime you put in a DVD or turn on the television set these days, you are bombarded with drug use. Drug trafficking and usage has become almost commonplace in Hollywood anymore. Often in movies the person using or selling the drugs becomes rich, powerful and never gets caught. The harsh truth is our prisons are overflowing with drug offenders. Children may not see this as the truth. They will see their favorite actors or singers living a life of luxury. As a father to a six year old boy, what I see on television concerns me greatly. I have to remind him that what he is seeing on the television is not real, and that the people in it are just pretending. Unfortunately, Hollywood is very good at what they do, and often make my job harder. With the constant barrage of drug use on television and in movies, it appears to be a battle I cannot win unless I properly educate him. It is important to show that drugs are sensationalized in movies and television and that in real life, drugs can ruin lives.…
There are many drugs, legal and illegal, that many people use and abuse every day. We see stories on the news or on social media about people dying on the street every day due to an overdose on drugs. It becomes hard to deal with illegal drugs that many people use today when a good amount of the population are addicted to using drugs, including teens, especially when these drugs affect the brain, just in different ways. The most commonly used illegal drug is a drug known as marijuana. Teens brains become affected because the main ingredient in marijuana changes brain functioning. For example, they see brighter colors and get an increased appetite. Marijuana can be very addicting to teens because they don't see it as a big risk thinking that…
Teens are being affected by drugs every day. Teens see drugs no matter where they go. They see them in movies, ads on t.v. and on billboards, and on video games so there surrounded by them. 35.1% of 12th graders have admitted to smoking marijuana this past year. Seniors in highschool are smoking marijuana more than smoking a cigarette. It’s not only affecting seniors, kids in middle school are also using. Thats people my age using drugs. Marijuana isn’t the only drug that kids are using, but one that has come up lately is painkillers, and opioids. Painkillers can be very dangerous if you get addicted to them. There has to be a way we can teach teens and show them what they really can do to you.…
Cigarettes, liquor, and medications are all incorporated by young people wanting to be grown-ups and attempt grown-up things. This can be a big problem because when they try one thing, they’ll want to try another, and then another, and would lead to major health conditions. That’s why a lot of people call marijuana the gateway drug, because it sometimes leads to exploring other drugs and illegal substances. Teens are curious and want to see the effects of drugs. Some teens also think that are invincible and cannot be harmed by any…