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Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

arstechnica.com

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Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#211

Post by [deleted] »

kube-system wrote: post #54
hathawsh wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That is the raw number, not the rate. Since the spread of social media, suicide rates are up for children, significantly: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db471.pdf > The suicide rate for people aged 15–19 did not change significantly from 2001 through 2009, then increased 57% from 2009 through 2017 > For people aged 10–14, the suicide rate tripled from 2007 through 2018

[deleted]

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#212

Post by acuozzo »

jajko wrote: post #60
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…

> 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 dont have a clue what your upbringing looked like, but even up to around age of 25, I never ever expected nor was told to expect any of that. The success despite all that is much sweeter. Maybe thats some US thing, being raised in eastern Europe you were born to shit, you were considered ins…

> Teenagers being frustrated that they wont be owning some posh expensive house

Posh expensive house? Nowhere was that mentioned.

The post-WWII 20th century American social contract was: "You will have the ability to get married, live in a modest home of your own, own a car, raise 2-3 young children, and go on a modest annual vacation even if you work in a factory".

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#213

Post by fy20 »

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…

> the message they seem to be receiving is that they are without a future...

At least when I was that age, it was usually the low income people who's greatest achievement in life would be avoiding prison, who usually turned towards smoking, alcohol, drugs and sex. See "Common People" and similar 80s/90s Britpop songs.

What changed?

I grew up in a lower middle class family, and for me the feeling that I could end up like that - as many people I went to school with did - was what pushed me to achieve. My parents could only just afford their bills, so I didn't get any handouts from them. Of course I don't have a Lambo, so maybe I'm considered a failure by Gen Z? Has the boundary of what is considered "successful" shifted?

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#214

Post by captnObvious »

LorenzoGood wrote: post #102
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…

As a person in that age bracket, I don't feel like my peers and I are lacking in opportunities to participate in drug & alcohol use. As to why I choose to abstain, I honestly am just not interested in drinking or doing drugs. I don't see any benefit to it socially, since I have more fun with my friends doing things while they are sober, and I don't want to be one of those adults that can't socialize without it. Also,…

This is what I’m thinking. All of the kids I know from 16-22 are the most level headed group of young adults I’ve known. It is hilarious to me that this group of brilliant technologists leans so heavily towards seeing the absolute worst in every data point.

Could it be that, kids are doing less drugs because they’re more informed, less bored, and less reckless than previous generations?

We all aspire that our kids will do better than we have. We did our best to instill a sense of confidence and worth in them.

What if it is finally starting to just, f’ing work?

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#215

Post by _tom_ »

Incorrect title. "Illegal drug use among teens drops" is what the study is talking about.

Psychoactive prescriptions are up probably orders of magnitude in the last fifty years.

People have been talking about "self medicating" with alcohol and other legal drugs to deal with various problems for decades. Now there are legal "doctor medicating" options.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#216

Post by sandy_coyote »

nozzlegear wrote: post #105
dpndencekultur wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indoctrination into a dependency mindset fits the "buy a solution" model that our societies run on. We are already primed for this indoctrination from the moment mother puts a pacifier in our mouths. Then constantly looking up at her approval, that constitutes the beginning of our need of approval from the women in our lives. We are programmed and primed from day 0.

We're just missing a cigar and a dream about trains here.

What's the reference here? I thought Pink Floyd at first.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#217

Post by makeitdouble »

DiggyJohnson wrote: post #193
makeitdouble wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 !"

It replaced those things but that list doesn’t include the major time sinks, besides TV: social media, porn, doomscrolling. We already made fun of TV zombies, and at the worst it absolutely can remind me of a drunk or unstable person.

I understand how much people are emotionally reactive to these part of the net, and the cultural hatred some can have for "unproductive" time (does it match what you call "time sinks"?)

I still don't think they stand on the same foot as vodka.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#218

Post by _tom_ »

whatever1 wrote: post #191

It's because they dont have same day delivery. Who has the energy to stop scrolling on tiktok and get out of the house to get anything. Let alone drugs that require you to speak to someone.

You can probably get same day delivery on drugs, too.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#219

Post by teractiveodular »

dag11 wrote: post #185
deadbabe wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the eyebrow raise is due to the fact that nobody cool uses Snapchat anymore. It’s like Facebook now.

For millenials and older gen z yeah, but it's my understanding (and my complete surprise as a millenial) that snapchat is actually big again amongst actual children. Can anyone who better knows the reality here chime in?

Can confirm, Gen Alpha is all about Snapchat, and their DAUs bear this out:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/545967/snapchat-app-dau/

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#220

Post by _tom_ »

jimbob45 wrote: post #200
sailfast wrote: post #17

Is it possible this batch of survey respondents just doesn’t trust anyone with information about their habits, so they lied?

Came here to say this. I remember these surveys in high school and how non-seriously we took them. Really, I can’t imagine any group less credible to survey than high schoolers.

But it's changing over time, and students always lied.

But it's possible that this generation is wiser/ more cynical and doesn't believe in anonymous surveys.

I know I don't.

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