News Teenage Drinking: Cultural or Killer?
Rachel Taylor from Goole is the new Goole Times teen correspondent. She will be regularly gracing our pages with news and views affecting Goole's teenage community.
In recent years, negative press coverage on teenage drinking has been rapidly on the increase, with experts presenting frightening statistics whilst pointing the finger at the government and parents. In this article, I hope to express the attitudes and beliefs on the issues of teenage drinking from the viewpoint of a teen in modern-day society.
A national survey recently stated that: "The pupils' experience of drinking tended to reflect their families' attitudes", which made me slightly angry, as I'm sure it will you if you're a parent. I myself know of people whose parents have been extremely strict and intended to keep their kids under lock and key until they're 30, but unsurprisingly they tend to be the ones who go the wildest when they hit 18 and thus are released into the world of adulthood wide-eyed.
The question is, is teen drinking really part of growing up, or is it something that will cause massive problems in later life for both individuals and society?
My family has always drunk at social occasions, as most adults do, which I find has given me a healthy approach to alcohol whilst growing up (i.e. made me realise I shouldn't ever drink as much as my great uncle did that night he collapsed!) Thus, after being warned of the effects, I as a teenager went out and had the choice to make my own mistakes and learn from them or do otherwise, which is pretty much what I think growing up is about. As I approached my teen years I guess I could've been classed as a bit of an agoraphobic, yet when I started going out with people from my class, i.e. aimlessly walking around the streets and parks, I learned that drinking was somewhat standard in youth culture and joined in. And I can honestly say, a couple of blue WKDs with my friends didn't do me any harm and we had a lot of harmless fun together.
HEALTH RISKS
Don't get me wrong, there are major scientifically-proven health risks, both mental and physical, that should definitely be taken into account in this debate. A recent study at an American university found that people who started drinking as young teenagers suffered adverse effects on the brain and, not so surprisingly, the liver, causing long-term health problems. According to NHS figures, twenty youngsters a day are being diagnosed with alcohol-related illnesses such as poisoning and behavioural difficulties due to excessive drinking, and is currently costing the health service £1.7 billion a year. This, obviously, is absurd, and with alcohol-related diagnoses amongst youngsters on the increase, it can only cost us more. A spokesman from Alcohol Concern says: "We have to get over the cultural misconception that alcohol is safe."
There has also been speculation from the press about the government trying to tackle this problem by raising the drinking age to 21 as opposed to 18. I, however, believe this will cause even worse problems in society, such as young people hosting crazy house parties and walking the streets causing havoc, as they have nothing else to do. Surely, we would all be better drinking where one has the opportunity to develop socially in a controlled environment than huddled in the streets causing intimidating atmospheres? In my research I looked at US stats against UK ones. As you may know, the US legal drinking age is 21 and, surprisingly, 31 per cent of US teenagers admitted to binge-drinking at least once in the past month, whereas it was only 21 per cent in the UK. Also, it seems morally unfair that people who could have been out drinking for up to three years could be suddenly snatched this right, which may cause unnecessary nationwide controversy.
TV ADVERTISING
In a recent BBC survey, many parents pointed the finger at alcohol adverts on television and stated they should be banned, as tobacco ones were. President of Mothers Against Drink Driving (MADD), Glynn Birch, says on the matter: "There seems to be a direct correlation between alcohol advertising and teen drinking... it's more important than ever to make sure there is a dialogue with teens about issues that could impact their future...they should be filled with positive influences and not with harmful substances.' However, I personally think television advertisements affect teen drinking very little, if at all.
Interestingly, it has recently been suggested that the representation of drinking in soap opera scenes could be influential on teens, which I can actually understand. When analysed, 18 per cent of scenes in Hollyoaks and 17 per cent in Coronation Street were showing alcohol. I found this ideology intriguing, (especially as I'm a big fan of both - sad, I know!) as it's possible that teens are subconsciously absorbing that that is what popular culture and a 'normal' teen lifestyle should be like, as indeed that is what producers try to represent, particularly in Hollyoaks, which shows arguably good-looking young people. Study author Cally Matthews says: "Soap shows are awash with scenes showing alcohol being consumed as part of a seemingly healthy lifestyle and appearing as a normal part of everyday life.'
Thus, I guess what I'm trying to say is that parental consent, i.e. letting teens have the odd one or two beverages, may aid a healthy approach to alcohol by educating them about it. Of course, I'm not suggesting we teens go out and get blattered every night, but everyone has their own mind and are responsible for themselves. And with people constantly clamping down and practically declaring war to stop us youngsters from doing it, even though it's for our own good, I assume it will create an adverse effect and thus cause even more severe societal complications in years to come.
Published on 10th January 2008 in News.
Add to: Digg | del.icio.us | Reddit
Comments
There are currently no comments
Comments are closed for this article.