Introduction

Currently, the world is so dependent on technology thus making the influence of the media over people great. Audiences internalize the message they receive from the media with the hope of becoming prosperous. Regarding drugs, the government regulations on prohibited drugs rarely reflect the best for society rather the intentions are to sustain power. The role of the media on drugs is to create hysteria so that people obey. The media presents biased information to the audience telling them that drugs are not good. For instance, commercials present anti-drug adverts with the message that drugs are harmful. Due to the creation of a collective consciousness regarding drugs, the public will support the government in the creation of policies to control abuse of drugs. Illegal drugs influence the behavior of an individual. Drug users get the feeling of euphoria when the drug is in their brain; however, once its leaves the brain, they start developing negative perception about everything.

Drugs and the Media

The media presents various information on the status of drugs and drug use with an aim to educate the people. A recent advert on anti-drug presented by the media concerned a prominent skier, Chad Fleischer who claimed that he perceives skiing as his anti-drug. The media uses famous Olympians to disseminate information on the adverse impact of drugs. Moreover, such adverts help keep young generations off drugs. For the media to have a successful campaign, they tend to put a lot of efforts on their adverts by using celebrities to convey the message. Although the media is trying to fight illegal substances, a survey conducted regarding mass media on their portrayal of drug and drug use reflected the opposite. For instance, a partnership for a Drug-Free America conducted a survey, and the findings indicate that in 2000, 42% of teens think rap or rock music present positive messages on drugs.

According to the report from the anti-drug advocates, the media provide youths with mixed messages regarding drugs and other prohibited substances. Messages from most songs and shows indicate that drugs are good. The target audience for the media and pop culture are youths; therefore, parents are worried that adverts and messages disseminate mixed messages on drugs thus making their children exposed to the potential risk of drug consumption. The popularity and widespread impact of both rap and rock culture are leading to the pervasiveness of antisocial behaviors among the youth. Additionally, the concern people have with drugs and music has resulted in the prosecution of many celebrities since they pose a threat to the youth. In the United States, campaigns against the pervasiveness of drug use often backfire due to enthusiasm and curiosity in drug use. Similarly, the adverts often backfire by instigating the target audience into rallying against the message portrayed in the advert.

Media’s Inaccurate Information on Drugs

Due to the high dependence on the media, people tend to receive inaccurate information on drugs, their effects, and the market. Moreover, the media seem to misreport on the enforcement response to the use of drugs. Misreporting on subjects such as drugs and drug use poses a great danger to the society. I believe that the media does little to prevent problems resulting from the use of drugs. However, what the media does is to enhance the behavior they purport to eliminate or prevent. Campaigns against drugs seem to worsen the problems associated with drugs and drug use. Presentation of detailed reports on drugs, in particular, their locations and the means they were obtained serve as an advertising channel for drug dealers and markets. Such a move increase the popularity of drugs among the consumers and the country in general. When the media gives out information on locations to get drugs, cases of drug overdose tend to increase.

The media is responsible for exaggerating information on drugs as a way of discouraging people from using them. Some report indicates that hyperbolic stories on drugs provide opposite outcomes. For instance, in recent cases, the media has been focusing on ecstasy and the effects it portrays. However, instead of the message preventing people from using drugs, they tend to switch to consumption of different types of drugs that can result in more harm to their health. Additionally, parents may develop inappropriate reaction due to exaggerated stories making drug users seek help and continue consuming drugs.

People may lose trust and confidence on the media due to flawed reporting on drugs. What most people do is to compare the new reported with their real life experience. If the new seem to be inconsistent with what people experience, they will consider the message as inappropriate thus losing confidence. For instance, the media exaggerated information about ecstasy and associated it with deaths. For those who have used the drug and knew that the media exaggerated the information will no longer trust the news reported about effects of ecstasy. Finally, the media misreport drug use by focusing on certain aspects of drugs. Besides, the media leaves important aspects of drugs untouched by failing to handle real threats exhibited through the consumption of drugs. The consequences of drugs are not only seen on their adverse effects but also on the commencement of addiction that makes people continue using drugs. Society may not get any help from misreported news from the media on drugs adverts against drug addiction. The media may end up adding problems to the society by encouraging people to use drugs. Some may opt to try and experience the consequences of particular drugs being mentioned in the media. Conversely, with accurate reporting, people may receive positive influence on drugs.

Conclusion

The present society is facing a serious problem of drug abuse and addiction. The consequence of drug abuse affect mostly the occupational and personal lives of users. The media has helped people to understand drugs and dangers they pose. In this context, the media source I browsed was a website (ABC News). The target audience for this media source are the youths. The media functions as a tool that discourages young people from abusing drugs. The use of adverts with information on dangers of using drugs has enabled people to avoid trying and using drugs. Although the media acts as a source of good information about drugs, there are emerging issues on how they disseminate information about drugs and drug use. The outcome of the information tends to be negative to what the media claim to solve. I believe that misreporting information on drugs worsen the situation potential and drug addicts are facing. When the media provide the public with information on the location to purchase drugs, it increases the chances of more people abusing drugs. People tend to lose trust in the media when it reports information that is inconsistent with what people experience. I suggest that there is need to eliminate the misreporting of the media to provide positive outcomes of aim against drug use.

 
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