Exaggeration Of Drinking Behavior

Every year, children watch an average of 20,000 commercials, with 2000 of them promoting alcoholic beverages. While many view them as harmless, logic would contend that these advertisements play an important role in influencing the attitudes and ideals that society’s youths relate to alcohol consumption. Many aspects of modern media deliver promises that once one engages in “drinking,” the will merge with a high society way of life where popularity, desirability and ultimately happiness are easily attained. While peers and families, environment and heredity, all contribute to one’s inclination to drink, more so, the messages revealed in TV shows, movies, mainstream music and even everyday commercials are constant and consistent in their encouragement
of alcohol drinking. Freeman, Cliff. "Stop Liquor Ads on TV: Talking Points." Center for Science in the Public Interest. Feb. 2002. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.cspinet.org/booze/liquorads/liquor_talkingpoints.htm>.

One movie in particular, The Hangover, which was released in 2009 and was directed by Todd Phillips reveals how society idolizes and admires the people who are addicted to alcohol and lightens the disheartening effects, connected to its consumption. Once the fame of the movie began rising, it became obvious that the main characters, four adult everyday men, because of their unusual alcohol influenced experiences throughout the film, to a younger generation, they were heroes. Actors, singers, sports figures and celebrities alike are also adored for their practices of excessive drinking, and are easily forgiven when their actions result in troubles, thus reinforcing the idea that there are no consequences for drinking alcohol.
For every one alcohol abuse “don’t drink” campaign they see every year, teenagers will see fifty times more advertisements that promotes drinking. While advertisements and commercials are quick to stress the supposed positivity of alcohol, they are usually never straightforward concerning the adverse and harmful effects that can result. When the availability of beer, liquor and wine is abused, usually a person will experience physical and mental symptoms causing their overall health to diminish such as in liver damages, increased risks of stroke and heart related diseases and a greater likelihood of depression which is a major source of domestic abuse in households.
Overall the messages depicted in media on the subject of alcohol drinking retains a contradictory ideal that while it is dangerous and young people should not drink, if they did engage in alcoholism, they would be considered socially norm only to be admired and praised for their actions.

* In a society where being deviant to a mainstream culture is encouraged and the “bad to the bone” mantra is a theme for popularity, drinking alcohol is considered sophisticated and trendy. * Only recently there has been uproar of negativity associated with excessive alcohol drinking due to the rise in the number of lethal and problematic drunk driving incidents. Many talk shows, such as the Oprah show that has long dispersed the adversities of alcoholism, attempt to discourage the younger generation from participating in this peer pressure fueled exploit but to no avail as the images of beauty, sex, and admiration from alcohol advertising is much more appealing. * Very rarely will media cover the life story and past experiences of former alcoholics and it is hardly ever referred to as an addiction which one may find extremely difficult to overcome. This in turn, supports an incorrect impression that it is only a leisurely activity and not something that can ultimately become a risk to one’s upstanding presence in society.
Editors sometimes confess that sensational statistics have much more reader appeal than reports of generally declining problems. When alcohol statistics are presented by researchers, the media tend to spin stories in a negative light. For example, the Wall Street Journal ran the following headline and lead sentence in response to a press release by the Harvard School of Public Health: “BINGE” DRINKING AT NATION’S COLLEGES IS WIDESPREAD, A HARVARD STUDY FINDS Boston, Almost half of all students surveyed at 140 U. S. colleges admitted to “binge” drinking, leading to everything from fights to vandalism, lower grades and other deviance behavior.
Significantly, hype and exaggeration are actually an important part of the problem.
A negative spin on drinking statistics has a negative impact on drinking behaviors by contributing to a “reign of error. When some people believe that “everyone is doing it,” abusive drinking increases as they try to conform to the imagined behaviors of others. Most often this is done among the young people and the perceptions of the drinking behaviors of others strongly influences the actual drinking behavior of students. Also, the exaggeration of alcohol abuse tends to create a self-fulfilling prophesy for the young because, they believe heavy drinking begin to happen and more heavily they tend to drink in order to conform. Alcohol can make the young people grow up to a world of abstinence which is both unrealistic and irresponsible. So, instead of stigmatizing alcohol and trying to scare the people in the society into abstinence, they need to recognize that it is not the alcohol itself but rather the abuse of alcohol that is the problem. We as adults or parents need to prepare our young to learn what is right and wrong about the abuse of alcohol and the media and try not to be influenced. The talk shows that represent former alcoholics are unpredictable at times because, they would show the recovery of a star host and then later in the movie that star or role model will continue to drink repeatedly. So, at that point the society would say or think if that role model can go in and recover from the alcohol and snap back and do advertising or anything in life and not be hurt the young would think that it is okay for them to do and feel no sympathy or pain in life. The ad say that it is okay to drink Coors Light The Silver Bullet and it is the world’s most refreshing beer and it has great
responsibility.