In the media, alcohol consumption is frequently portrayed as a regular social activity and glorifies both alcohol abuse and underage consumption. These messages are sent through a variety of media platforms such as, television, advertisements (print and digital), and networking websites. The messages being sent to audiences promote and encourage people to partake in such activity. Underage audiences are easily manipulated into believing that what they see in the media, is an accurate representation of social normalities. This is an important topic to examine because the underage drinking culture and alcohol abuse as become a prominent issue in the United States and consequences are deadly. This paper will discuss the use and display of alcohol …show more content…
However, according to Montonen’s Alcohol and the Media, the media believes they are using alcohol topics as a way to teach audiences of the issues at hand (Winett 1997: 358). Montonen disagrees because “‘it creates an illusion that something is being done to address a societal problem’” (Winnett 1997:358); but in reality, the constant exposure is simply making the societal problems worse. The hypodermic needle model, also known as the magic bullet, is known for directly infusing messages to audiences and those messages then are directly accepted due to audience passiveness. The constant viewing of alcohol consumption does not mean audiences are learning from the media, however they begin to believe it is …show more content…
It is evident that media convinces audiences that there is a correct viewpoint of different ideas and it can be difficult for viewers to look past social constructions of the media. Therefore, just because most television shows portray teenagers and college students rapidly consuming alcohol and being intoxicated, it does not mean that that is “normal”. The media is extremely powerful, but it ultimately comes down to a view to create personal beliefs and values. So, when people begin to abuse alcohol, the media makes it seem as if a person’s actions are normal, which makes the issue at hand
Today, teens and young adults involve themselves with alcohol. This is often due to peer pressure. Alcohol is easy to abuse and is not seen as a drug like heroin or
Congress and Presidents’ tried to prevent the abuse of alcoholism by passing a law (National Minimum Age Drinking Act) to lower the possibilities of having more accidents, but with the law being created more than a million teens around the world haven’t abided by this law. Imagine that you had a bottle of whiskey that contained seventy-five percent of alcohol and later on you were wasted trying to get to your vehicle so you can drive home, but you got caught driving drunk by a police officer. What could you have done to prevent that from happening? 1) Being responsible and 2) Have a designated driver that would drive you home and 3) Don’t drink at all! Overwhelming the results of seventy-seventy percent of the American public had disagreed with lowering the drinking age from twenty-one years old to a younger age.
To counteract major alcohol consumption many universities are ironically opting to sell alcoholic beverages inside their stadiums. There logic is that by selling alcohol they can monitor and limit the number of drinks
and the author believes “there is no evidence of brain impairment, alcohol dependency, or underage alcohol abuse” Another important claim is that “the problem is not drink – it is the drinker.” The author says that we should not emphasis on alcohol itself but emphasis on the person and its surroundings. In conclusion, the author believes that we should be allowed to think freely about MLDA21 and more responsible alcohol consumption is likely to
“ Though the per capita consumption of alcohol in France, Spain and Portugal is higher than in the United States, the rate of alcoholism and alcohol abuse is lower. A glass of wine at dinner is normal practice,” she says. “Banning drinking by young people marks it a badge of adulthood--a tantalizing forbidden fruit” (Whalen). She stresses the fact that if teenagers are taught early on, they will be well educated in knowing the dangers of violently drinking.
Today in the United States about 4,358 people under the age of 21 years old die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and even drowning. More than 190,000 people under the age of 21 visited an emergency room for alcohol related reasons in 2008 alone. Alcohol related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally injure someone every two minutes. That’s a lot of people gone because they wanted to go out and party and not think about the consequences ahead. In this essay I’m gonna give you information to why Underage Drinking is very very bad for you.
The amount of illegal activity such as assaults result from many people not respecting and not knowing their limits when it comes to drinking may be stopped by lowering the age as discussed in the previous paragraph. But the amount of theft and people in jail has skyrocketed due to the unreasonable law. There may also be more use of other more harmful drugs due to the unavailability of alcohol such as marijuana and even more harmful street drugs like heroin. This is supported by Mary Cary, a reputable persuasive writer, who states “While first-time use of illegal street drugs such as heroin by young people increased from 90,000 users in 2006 to 156,000 in 2012” (Cary par. 6).
College presidents from more than 120 US universities are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 back down to 18. The group argues that the current laws actually encourage binge drinking on campus (“President 's Campaign”). The rise of the drinking age from 18 to 21 caused far more problems than it has solved in today 's society. Regardless, crimes are going to be committed, alcohol related or not, but controlling and monitoring it would decrease the crime rate, rather than teenagers drinking secretly, with little to no supervision at all. “ The 21 year drinking age has not reduced drinking on campuses, it has actually probably increased it” says Middlebury president John McCardell.
Advocates and supporters of lowering the MLDA 21 to 18 allows young adults the right to make decisions about the consumption of alcohol. As the age of 18 entails an individual to legally become a young adult, receiving the “[rights] and responsibilities [required] to vote… and purchase cigarettes…” (Chiappetta), being prosecuted and tried as an adult, serve on juries, getting married, and drafting to the military – in which dangers the lives of themselves and others surrounding them. As lowering the MLDA from 21 to 18 will lessen the excitement to break the law for consuming alcohol finding the balance between moderation and consumption will become less taboo for workforce individuals and incoming university students. While allowing the consumption of alcohol in regulated and licensed environments and establishments as opposed to unsupervised house parties or fraternity houses “decreases the likelihood of danger and [controversial] actions” (McCardell). Advocates and adversaries of lowering the MLDA 21 both establish the safety of individuals who consume alcohol is always top priority.
The Higher Education of Drinking College is a place for higher learning. It is a time when young adults are exploring themselves as individuals, expanding not only their academic horizons but for many, it’s their first time being on their own socially. Young adults find themselves making many decisions. These choices involve attending class, completing assignments and possibly engaging in behaviors that could impact their own personal health and safety. Sometimes they are faced with decisions that involve the use of various substances including alcohol.
Some reasons for this is that the media likes to glorify alcohol; for example, “borgs” have become a very popular social media trend that includes drinking half a gallon of vodka mixed with flavored water in one sitting. According to Elizabeth Shepard, “75 percent of young teens say that alcohol is easy to require.” This is a huge problem because the three leading causes of death in young adults are car crashes, homicides, and suicides- alcohol being the leading factor in all three (Shepard). Therefore, underage drinking trends contribute to the issue of drunk driving in the United
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism seems like an issue that keeps getting increasingly worse each year in the United States. According to USA Today and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both say that approximately 6 people die from alcohol poisoning, caused from binge drinking, each day, which amounts to roughly 2,200 people each year. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that “In 2013 an estimated 697,000 adolescents ages 12–17 (2.8 percent of this age group) had an [alcohol use disorder]” (“Alcohol Facts”). Something has to stop and something has to change from preventing this more because 6 people dying each day from binge drinking alone is a lot, not to mention that 12-17 year olds are having alcohol problems at such a young age. Lowering the drinking age will enforce this act even more, promoting more drinking in fact.
“Malcolm and Antell (2001) argue that alcohol abuse and its related problems are not entirely objective phenomena; they also involve interpretation and stigmatization of deviant behavior” (Leon-Guerrero 2014). This could be because we view our older siblings, parents, and friends drinking and changes our perspective. For example, drinking is seen in media like music videos, television commercials and reality shows. This attracts the adolescents thinking drinking is a cool thing to do. For instance, during high school if you drink, you would be socially accepted but if you don’t then you can be considered an outcast.
A poll taken on July 2014 asked the public opinion of US adults for lowering the US legal drinking age from 21 to 18. Approximately 74% of the people opposed the idea, whereas roughly 25% of the people supported the idea ("Public Opinion" 1). The statistics indicate satisfaction among the majority of the people; however, with the current laws many issues arise that must be addressed concerning alcohol use. For starters, studies show an increase of dangerous drinking habits among young adults (Hall 2). In addition, the enforcement of the drinking laws and education on alcohol is insubstantial (Moyse, Fonder 3).
By the time they are high school seniors, seventy-two percent teenagers say they have already consumed alcohol. Proper education at younger ages is needed for our country’s youth to learn the proper use of alcohol through experimentation with their own limits in safe environments.