Young teens are gambling their life away due to their weekend binge drinking habits. You have made some great statements throughout your article, however, without any in-text referencing you are limiting the quality of your article. Drinking alcohol is an inherent part of the Australian cultural, passed down from generation to generation. Australians are at the forefront of the drinking culture, with nation is ranked as number 15 in the world for alcohol consumption. Thus to even the most unobservant teen, it is seen as a rite of passage into adulthood.
So how bad is consuming alcohol under 18? Regular drinking in adolescence is an important risk factor for the development of dependent and risky patterns of use in young adulthood. Furthermore today’s teenagers struggle to make safe decisions as the brain’s cognitive control system, which helps to “put the brakes” on risky behaviour, matures more gradually. Many young people do not live in an environment where alcohol education is valued, thus furthering the perception that alcohol is an important part of fitting in.
With family, peers and even the media perpetuating the normalcy of drinking, teenagers are finding it easier to be sucked into a life of binge drinking. Teenagers are being shown that alcohol always equals a good time. When they were 6 and dad asked them to grab a beer from the fridge. When they were 12, on the cusp of being a teenager, that parties and drinking was cool and is a rite of passage. And when they were 16, the peer pressure that comes with wanting to fit in. Teenagers are not being offered the support or skills they need to combat the outside influences of drug use.
These factors are giving way to a rising epidemic in illegal alcohol consumption. Peers are one of the largest influences on teenagers and their decision to consume alcohol, whether directly or indirectly. Teenagers struggle to develop the personal skills required to enable them to say no to their peers. There has been an unprecedented rise in binge drinking, as one in five 16 to 17 year old will binge drink in any given week. Because of the inherent desire to fit in in high school, teenagers are constantly influenced by their peer’s actions.
The largest cause of drug related harm in today’s society is due to alcohol, teenagers are literally dying to fit in. As many parents do not condone their children drinking to excess, teenagers often hide their drinking habits. To combat this issue, parents should employ the harm minimisation strategy, wherein not giving their teenagers alcohol but accepting that it will happen and take action to reduce how much risk is involved. Furthermore, it is vital that teenagers are surrounded by a supportive environment to reduce the risk associated with drinking.
A teenager’s support system can come from a number of areas such as family, friends and teachers. Every day teenagers are watching TV and movies and listening to music which all present alcohol in a positive light. Teenagers are being subconsciously influenced to partake in drinking because of today’s pop culture. In 2009, Australian teenagers were spending over 7 hours a day on consuming media, however with the increase in smart phones this will have increased greatly. The contributing factors increase the prevalence of alcohol amongst young people.
With teenage binge drinking on the rise it’s no wonder that concerned parents, schools and the government are scrambling to find a solution. One campaign that the government enacted was aimed at primarily young people from 15 to 17, The National Binge Drinking Campaign, utilises teen’s fear of an outcast against them. The main messages of the campaign revolve around the ideal of acceptable social practices. Furthermore the key tagline is ‘Don’t turn a night out into a nightmare’, this is meant to get teenagers to think of the possible consequences of drinking to intoxication.
It encompasses the ideal of developing personal skill amongst young people, through doing this it will teach adolescents how and why to say no to alcohol and what it does to the teenage body. By doing this it will ensure that there will be a severe reduction in teenage drinking tendencies. Discuss the positive outcomes of developing personal skills and in-text reference this idea. Also discuss the harm minimisation approach applied in the campaign. This campaign ran for 2 years from 2008 to 2010. At the beginning of the campaign 47% of teenagers drank more than 4 drinks in the past week however in 2011 it rose to 48%.
This campaign proved to be ineffective. However despite the numerous campaigns enacted, teenagers are just not getting the message. Why? The 2015 teenager is so involved in their smart phone they don’t notice the world around them, from walking down the street, sitting in the car or even double screening when watching TV. However whilst The National Binge Drinking campaign is aimed at adolescents, it fails to understand the modern teenager’s brain. This is due to the fact that all the advertising for the campaign is done through free to air TV and street advertisements.
Think your evaluation should also discuss the effectiveness of the campaign at addressing the factor of peer pressure and development of decision making skills. In order to convey to young people just how dangerous drinking is, the campaigns must cater to a diverse range of people. As young people are spread across the state an appropriate plan must be enacted, despite the difference in socio-economic levels. In today’s society Facebook is the most common social media as most people check it at least 14 time’s day.
The most effective way to reach a range of teenagers is to put advertisements on social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube. In an attempt to diminish the amount of alcohol consumption of Gen Z it is crucial that effective frameworks and ideals are implemented that apply to young people. Due to the Australian culture, it is impractical to assume that underage drinking will be ever fully eradicated. However by minimising the harm it will equip today’s adolescents with the knowledge to ensure that the harm in consuming alcohol is minimised. Just like Russian roulette, teenagers are risking everything on a gamble.