Social Media Connected to Teen Drinking and Smoking

This article touches on a recent study done by the University of Southern California. The results showed that teens who see their ‘Friends’ on Facebook posting pictures of themselves smoking and drinking are more likely to do so themselves. 1,563 students from El Monte Union High School in Los Angeles County were surveyed. First they were asked a series of questions in October 2010 then asked again in April 2011. The findings were not published until September 3^rd of this year.

Based on the results, in April 2011 30% of the teens had smoked and over 50% had had at least one drink before. About a third of the students reported having at least one friend who engaged in smoking and/or consumed alcohol. Half reported going on Facebook or MySpace on a regular basis.

Other studies done have found that 95% of 12-17 year olds in our country access the internet daily and 80% of them use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Personally, I can believe this since every person I know has at the very least one social networking site, some have four or five. Social networking is how most people who use it communicate with their friends, stay connected and stay in touch with people they may not be able to see on a regular basis. The drinking and smoking aspect is also very believable but, personally, I don’t feel it’s wise to do that in the first place since it could make it very difficult to secure a job in the future if material like that is discovered during a background check.

http://www.examiner.com/article/friends-social-media-photos-influence-teen-smoking-and-drinking