Live data from Hacker News

Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

arstechnica.com

261–270 of 624 posts

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#261
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree with this. Social media companies are incredibly valuable specifically because they are effective at getting people to spend their money on things they otherwise wouldn't have. Depression, suicide, and other serious mental health disorders are strongly linked with social media use. Is that better than more kids drinking and smoking pot? I don't know, it's complicated. It's certainly not clearly be…

Drug addicts sell their children (in the worst way) for the next hit. It's not the same.

> It's not the same.

I would not be so sure of that: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/farmville-playing-mom-admits-sh...

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#262

A question for older folks: what did drugs do for us? Why did we do them? For me, drugs were: - socialization. I met a lot of friends through alcohol & drugs and they became the social glue for my circle. Alcohol & drugs became a large part of my identity. - a way to cope with boredom. Every day is a party when you're high. - identity. In my generation, drugs were mostly cool and associated with iconoclasts, artists,…

Gen Z here and people are definitely still doing drugs and drinking, but it does seem massively less.

Just a personal anecdote, but there’s still a lot of house parties and stuff going on, and most people will have a couple drinks, some will have none, etc. But you are absolutely expected to handle yourself appropriately, getting too drunk or taking drugs you couldn’t handle isn’t tolerated and you’ll find yourself uninvited to future events. It is significantly more socially acceptable to drink no alcohol and take no drugs, than it is to get too drunk and act inappropriately.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#263
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First-time home owners have increased in age[0], the middle class is shrinking[1], education costs have vastly outpaced inflation[2] as have medical costs[3]. Perhaps the generalized fear is not so much about "coddling", but concrete realities. I do not envy them. [0] https://www.axios.com/2023/11/20/american-housing-market-old... [1] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/04/20/how-the-a... [2] https://www.usn…

More of gen z are home owners than previous generations at that age[0], real wages are increasing for the lower and middle class for the first time since 1970[1]. More people are leaving the workforce than anytime in history, creating high paying trade job openings at an unprecedented rate[2]. Health care costs are growing slower now than any prior decade[3]. Every generation has challenges and benefits. Framing the…

Regarding home ownership: they only started with a higher rate. It's too early to say, but considering that growth has stagnated, they're on track to become the generation that will own the least homes.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#264

A question for older folks: what did drugs do for us? Why did we do them? For me, drugs were: - socialization. I met a lot of friends through alcohol & drugs and they became the social glue for my circle. Alcohol & drugs became a large part of my identity. - a way to cope with boredom. Every day is a party when you're high. - identity. In my generation, drugs were mostly cool and associated with iconoclasts, artists,…

Gen Z here and people are definitely still doing drugs and drinking, but it does seem massively less. Just a personal anecdote, but there’s still a lot of house parties and stuff going on, and most people will have a couple drinks, some will have none, etc. But you are absolutely expected to handle yourself appropriately, getting too drunk or taking drugs you couldn’t handle isn’t tolerated and you’ll find yourself u…

> It is significantly more socially acceptable to drink no alcohol and take no drugs, than it is to get too drunk and act inappropriately

From what I’ve seen, this is partly a function of embedded social media. A drunk night at a friend’s isn’t just a bad decision, it reflects poorly on everyone in the room, including the host, in a semi-permanent and semi-public way.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#265
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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".

> 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"

Few under 50 actually want a suburban home in a no-name town with a single domestic holiday a year and a job requiring physical labor (and hard limits on clocking in and out) that feeds your family with industrial calories.

If you do, you can get that with practically zero training in a mid-tier hospitality job (or working as an e.g. bank teller) with an hour commute each way. Small-town suburban homes are cheap.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#266
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…

Why would anyone put fent in cocaine? It’s more expensive and has the opposite effect. Drug selling is all about repeat customers I don’t really believe this happens apart from accidents.

I wondered about that too. The most likely answer is that a lot of dealers aren't meticulous about cleaning work surfaces between batches.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#267
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…

Why would anyone put fent in cocaine? It’s more expensive and has the opposite effect. Drug selling is all about repeat customers I don’t really believe this happens apart from accidents.

Search "speedball drug", this has been done for decades.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#268
post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The political instability, social instability, climate change, wars, and more will affect you whether or not you deny them.

Those are easier to cope with when you live in a supportive society. _Most_ humans naturally help each others in case of emergency. It’s easier when the framework is already in place.

People help each other in war? Catastophy? Sometimes they do, sometimes they definitely do not.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#269

A question for older folks: what did drugs do for us? Why did we do them? For me, drugs were: - socialization. I met a lot of friends through alcohol & drugs and they became the social glue for my circle. Alcohol & drugs became a large part of my identity. - a way to cope with boredom. Every day is a party when you're high. - identity. In my generation, drugs were mostly cool and associated with iconoclasts, artists,…

Gen Z here and people are definitely still doing drugs and drinking, but it does seem massively less. Just a personal anecdote, but there’s still a lot of house parties and stuff going on, and most people will have a couple drinks, some will have none, etc. But you are absolutely expected to handle yourself appropriately, getting too drunk or taking drugs you couldn’t handle isn’t tolerated and you’ll find yourself u…

Handling your stuff isn't all that new. Unless you're hanging with very close friends you always needed to not be a problem or you wouldn't get invited back.

I'm curious what GenZ+ thinks about the movie "The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down" which is a tongue-in-cheek, funny look at mid 00's partying culture in LA. That's not really my generation, but is a bit of a window into what I think was the last generation to really embrace intoxication.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#270

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…

This was my first thought too. Their phones are all they need. Plus they are legal, encouraged even.
Post reply on HN