Dangerous Messages

Dangerous Messages Target Our Kids

Young people learn about drugs through both their real life experiences and from vicarious images and stories they encounter in the mass media. By the time a teen hits age 18, he or she will have seen thousands of messages for alcohol, presented through attractive, fast-paced, humorous messages. These messages make beer drinking seem a normal part of social life, connected to sports activities, something that people of all ages and races partake in. But beer commercials don’t tell the whole story about alcohol use. Alcohol use endangers teens by leading to violence, driving accidents, and unprotected sex. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers, and nearly 60 percent of all fatal accidents involve alcohol.

And cigarette ads are highly visible in the magazines teens read, on billboards, and at sports events. With 3,000 adolescents becoming regular users each day, advertising contributes to maintaining the false belief that smoking is a normal activity, when in fact, it is a highly addictive and health-destroying activity that kills over 400,000 people each year. While there are no advertising messages about illegal drugs, young people are exposed to many media messages that talk about drugs and drug use in a favorable way. Teens find pro-drug messages in the lyrics of popular music, in humorous references to drug use and getting high in TV comedy shows, and even in the “altered states” that are sometimes shown in the process of selling soft drinks, sneakers, or snack products. Nutritional supplements give the impression that a new body can be achieved by taking a pill. More and more pro-drug use sites use attractive web design and interactive graphics to make drug use seem like harmless fun.

By making drug use seem cool or funny, these media messages — on TV, the Internet, in movies, and in music — can reinforce a belief that drug use is just a lifestyle choice. The reality of drug use is that it destroys people’s lives. According to White House drug czar John Walters, illegal drug use has cost America more than $300 billion and more than 100,000 people dead. One-third of all property crimes, assaults, and murders have a drug connection.

Over and over, the mass media reinforce the false belief that consuming products can take away all pain and stresses making you feel truly alive. But the media doesn’t often show us that the best ways to reduce stress and feel truly alive is not by consuming a product — but doing something meaningful, like being with people, learning, being creative, exercising, taking action in the world.