Is Pop culture Promoting Drugs and Alcohol

Thinking of this problem before reading Sternheimer’s pontiff view I would have said that all media and pop culture promotes drinking and drugs but I would’ve been wrong. Studies showing that drinking among teens was a bigger problem in the 60s and 70s and has slowed down in the recent years. Children are also more likely to drink alcohol if they see a parent or guardian drinking and we thought it was pop culture. I found it very interesting that 40 percent of television shows are showing alcohol and drug consumption and the media keeps it going. A study following high school students showed that “video games and television shows with people consuming alcohol, including teens,is not the main problem, but the music videos is where the problem lies”Pediatrics(230). That is a part of pop culture though and with all these new videos popping up how do children stand a chance? It is way more effective to have the hot new artist drinking or splashing in champagne rather than our favorite fruit juices. Maybe it is a way for the different parts of the media to blame each other then nobody hasty where to turn.  With all the new information out and ads for everything in our faces for hours of the day it is easier forbids to get the things they want weather its a beer or some pills. With the declining numbers of substance users since the 70s and 80s a new problem has climbed the ladder and that is prescription pills. “In 2009 marathon 1 million emergency room visits were the result of prescription drug use”(238). I found this crazy but I believe it and the text also stated “Oxycodone was 3 to 1 and Hydrocodone was 4 to 1″(238). This was a 98 percent increase form 2004 and that means that parents and schools have even more responsibility to communicate and counsel their kids and students.

Scott Lang