The causes of drug use in America

The causes of drug use in America

The causes of drug use in America are multifactorial, but the media and celebs play a crucial role. Tobacco and alcohol consisted of 2 of the most significant drug threats to America. Over $25 billion is used annually in advertising of tobacco, prescription fugs, and alcohol, and these adverts are said to be effective. In contemporary society, digital media and celebrities have been used for advertising drugs.  Additionally, the media and celebrities are full of a considerable amount of drug use. Unlike traditional advertisements like movies did not hurt drug use, for current media and celebrities, they encourage drug use in America on how they advertise and present them?

How the media and celebrities portray drugs has greatly affected drug use in America. They have an undeniable influence on youth and the American population. The media and celebrities, when combined with humor, rock music, and attractive young models which are enticing for the youths and adolescent Americans. The media and celebrities make smoking seem like some normative activities which sometimes functions as a super-peer in pressuring the youths to use these drugs. In accordance with 2009, monitoring the future study, it was discovered that almost half of the American teenagers have tried smoking .hence, media presentation of cigarettes seems to stop increase teenager’s chances of smoking (Thanki et al., 2016). This is because smokers are portrayed as being young, independent in addition to healthy and adventures.

On the contrary, the adverse effects of smoking are never displayed by these celebrities and the media. Hence, the conclusion that the media and celebrity presentation of drugs increases the risk of the American population on drug abuse. Most studies conclude that alcohol exposure through media and celebrities who show that it is a prestigious and luxurious thing to do entice Americans to engage in drug use.

An example is where celebrities such as Cardi B and Drake post themselves in the media drinking and getting high influences all the American states are watching them. Americans also see other influencers and friends taking drugs openly, which normalizes and glamorizes actions such as illicit drug use and binge drinking, which makes Americans wrongly believe that it is appropriate to do the same (Sanni et al., 2020). A research conducted by the national center on addiction and drug use at Columbia University reported that Americans that use popular social media outlets have high chances of using the drugs, drinking and buying drugs when compared to American who have not to access to media and celebrity influences.

Recent studies report that 75% of teenagers in social media see photos and videos on social networking sites of people smoking weed or drinking alcohol, which encourages them to experiment the same way. Hence there is a need for what celebrities and media display concerning drug and drug use. This is because, in contemporary society, there has been a high development of media and celebrity influences. Through technology, their influence reaches millions of people within a short time. Since Americans view celebrities as role models when they see those using drugs and openly praising substance abuse, they have high chance of trying to take drugs (Thanki et al., 2016). This is the immolation of their “role models.” Further, how the media portrays drugs and drug use gives an enticing impression which increases one’s temptation of trying the drugs. Hence, there is a need of regulating how the media and celebrities portray drugs and drug use to society.

References

Thanki, D., & Frederick, B. J. (2016). Social media and drug markets.

Sanni, K. T., & Aransi, W. O. (2020). Perceived Psychosocial Factors as Determinants of Drug Use and Abuse among Public Secondary School Youths in Osun State, Nigeria. Learning, 5(1), 13-23.