Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts • Hacker News Board

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#151

Post by mr_toad » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:31 AM UTC

hathawsh wrote: post #19

ikmckenz wrote: post #13

Teens aren't doing drugs, smoking, drinking, or having sex. And the suicide rate has never been higher.

I'm not contradicting you, but it appears that the suicide rate hasn't changed since 2018. See this interactive chart and switch the Injury Type to Suicide: https://wisqars.cdc.gov/fatal-injury-trends/ That chart shows the rate has hovered around 4000 per month for years. That's 4000 too many, but at least it's not increasing.

> I'm not contradicting you, but it appears that the suicide rate hasn't changed since 2018.

Peak social media?

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#152

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:31 AM UTC

mmooss wrote: post #114

ikmckenz wrote: post #13

Teens aren't doing drugs, smoking, drinking, or having sex. And the suicide rate has never been higher.

> Teens aren't ... having sex. Nor are people in their 20s (that is, both groups are having much less sex). That is the most worrying thing to me. People are not even engaging in the most fundamental, unavoidable, pleasurable human drive. They seem very much like traumatized people, on a massive scale, just trying to survive.

[deleted]

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#153

Post by DiggyJohnson » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:31 AM UTC

HPsquared wrote: post #130

crtified wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine that, for the young people of the world, the Covid years really ripped away the illusion that the adults of the world are in competent control. To a degree that modern generations (from otherwise relatively stable, wealthy countries) have never experienced. While there are other major factors clearly contributing to the generational angst, I think this was the catalyst. I wonder how the economics stack up,…

See also: anyone who lived through the decline and fall of the USSR.

Presumably you’re referring to disillusioning a generation, right? I wonder if the masses had smartphones in 1992 if they would have withdrew to the internet rather than vodka. Genuine question - yours is an interesting connection because the circumstances of disillusionment are so different.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#154

Post by DiggyJohnson » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:33 AM UTC

jolmg wrote: post #131

oortoo wrote: post #18

Another aspect here I think is the generalized fear and anxiety present in young people. Having spoken to some family members in the 15-18 age bracket, the message they seem to be receiving is that they are without a future... they won't be buying homes, they won't be getting high paying jobs, and that the system is not going to work in their favor. I think people of this age are uniquely feeling mortal and vulnerabl…

> you typically need to be unsupervised with friends to get into drugs, something teenagers no longer have access to compared to 10-15 years ago. They don't? I'm pretty sure I saw unsupervised teens hanging out at a mall even just a few days ago.

Not to sound snarky, but please consider interpreting comments like these as making a statement about rate rather than an absolute binary.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#155

Post by musictubes » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:34 AM UTC

ThrowawayTestr wrote: post #142

zingababba wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's insanely easy to buy drugs online.

You still need crypto, no?

Nope. Don't even need the dark web. All you need is social media.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/12/who-needs-the-da...

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#156

Post by yowayb » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:38 AM UTC

vouaobrasil wrote: post #6

I wonder if the new drug of choice is actually technology. In some ways I think that the addiction to technology has some similar mellowing effects as drugs. Some research indicates that smartphone addiction is also related to low self-esteem and avoidant attachment [1] and that smartphones can become an object of attachment [2]. The replacement of drugs by technology is not surprising as it significantly strengthens…

Makes complete sense to me. Drugs are an effective distraction because they're easy to use and often fast-acting. Outdoor/sport distractions require effort (driving, etc). Video games require much less effort. Add to that less-trivial things like investing and research, and you've got the perfect "addiction"

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#157

Post by DiggyJohnson » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:39 AM UTC

LorenzoGood wrote: post #103

jaco6 wrote: post #50

Two things: Even the “cool kids” are staying inside and using their phones all day. Cool used to mean you were at the party, now it just means you have a high snapchat score. Other thing is genuine fear of accidental fentanyl consumption. They’re making fake Xans with fentanyl in them, fentanyl is being found in coke powder. Plenty of people aren’t taking the risk with street drugs anymore. Jelly Roll said so in an i…

> Even the “cool kids” are staying inside and using their phones all day. Cool used to mean you were at the party, now it just means you have a high snapchat score. Eyebrow raise.

At what? This is clearly true by experience. As long as you remember it’s a rate and not an absolute statement. Cool kids still go to more parties and are less terminally online than their lamer peers, but it’s a lot less parties and a lot more screen time for the cool kid as well.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#158

Post by AI_beffr » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:47 AM UTC

the appetite for self-destruction is just as big now as it used to be among teenagers. i think people simply dont understand how self-destructive social media is. thats why theyre surprised.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#159

Post by makeitdouble » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:49 AM UTC

DiggyJohnson wrote: post #153

HPsquared wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See also: anyone who lived through the decline and fall of the USSR.

Presumably you’re referring to disillusioning a generation, right? I wonder if the masses had smartphones in 1992 if they would have withdrew to the internet rather than vodka. Genuine question - yours is an interesting connection because the circumstances of disillusionment are so different.

Online services have displaced at least:

  - the TV
  - the radio
  - board games
  - card games
  - video games
  - theaters
  - phones and faxes
  - the mail

Perhaps the above where the equivalent of vodka to some of you, but I wouldn't look at someone with their smartphone and think "wow, they're getting wasted !"

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#160

Post by Gigachad » Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 1:58 AM UTC

kylehotchkiss wrote: post #116

Ample bodycam footage of people on drugs, or overdosing is widely available. I’d like to imagine that many people’s first exposure to drugs is seeing the terrifying things it leads them to do.

There’s regular news articles about people straight up dying from dodgy pills. Why would you take that risk. There is no way to safely use drugs when a single pill could kill you instantly.