My take on it is the absence of role-models. In the 60's LSD and the Stones, the Doors, the Hippies In the 70's Hash and David Bowie, Disco, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Pink FLoyd In the 80's it was Coke and New Wave, Duran Duran, Punk In the 90's it was Alcohol and Metal, Ecstasy and Raves, Madonna's experimental phase encouraging women to test their limits. In the 00's there was Marilyn Manson, Nu Metal? But it's already g…
Listen to any pop or hip hop station. Here's Mask Off (Future ft Drake) - peaked at 5 on Billboard Hot 100 this summer. The hook is mostly this: "percocet, molly percocet" Then check out dubstep and EDM subculture. There is probably a massive rave event happening every weekend in the states. Molly is a massive component of these events.
How much of that is the teens described in this article? The subjects of the article seem to be mostly post-millennial (current high schoolers) who enjoy hanging at home with their parents. The average age of a massive rave goer probably skews a bit more towards the college and early 20s age bracket.