Drugs, Alcohol, and the Media

APRIL 29, 2010

Drugs, Alcohol, and the Media

MCMM 4283

Brittany Harrison

Preliminary Title:

Drugs, Alcohol, and the Media

Introduction:

The presentation of alcohol and other drugs in the media has received both scrutiny and criticism. As a result, researchers have started to explore the types of portrayals of, in particular, alcohol use in television programs and advertisements and the influence of those portrayals on adolescents (Alcohol in the Media, 2010). Drugs and alcohol play a significant part in the media because they are commonly used throughout society. This research paper will focus on how drugs and alcohol plays such an important role in the media and in adolescents’ lives.

Literary Review:

Celebrities are role models to a lot of people, and when they make it seem cool to do drugs, other people tend to imitate this behavior. It’s generally assumed that celebrities have an ideal life of money and fame; yet when they are found to be abusing drugs or alcohol, the public tends to turn on them as though they were weak (Amos, 2010).

America has a drug problem. In recent years this drug problem has been a major focus of our news media. There has been widespread coverage of drugs on the nightly news, in documentaries, and on the pages of daily newspapers (Shoemaker, 1989).

The examination of media’s role in persuasion in any particular area of social behavior, such as media’s influence in changing attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse, needs to look at media messages broadly for how mass media portray social meanings. There are subtle drug use messages often embedded within television programs and movies; there are news items about drug overdoses among movie stars and athletes. All of these media messages may influence audience perceptions of the drug issue (Lewis Donohew, 1991). Most celebrities who abuse drugs or alcohol find that they can only hide the addiction for so long. Eventually, some kind of public problem will “out” them to the...