Underage Drinking in the Media

Linnerz. Progressiveu. "Underage Drinking in the Media" 13 Sep. 2009 http://www.progressiveu.org/163020-underage-drinking-in-the-media

This article describes the magnitude and effect that underage drinking has in the media and it's audience. The author shares many feelings about how underage drinking in the media is much too common. She includes the example of banning of selling cigarettes on television and how come they can't ban the selling and use of alcohol in the media. She states that almost all of the popular TV shows have an event where an underage person drinks and gets in an accident and has to face many tribulations and challenges from this mistake. She is very right about this because we do like drama and there is a lot of quality drama to come from someone drinking. She mentions that the media portrays drinking as the only way to have fun. Obviously this is not true and this should not be shown to teens as the only way to have a good time.

I totally agree with what this article has to say about underage drinking in the media. I know many shows that include underage drinking as a common aspect of their show. To name a few, there is Friday Night Lights and Forever Strong. In Forever Strong, the teen is drinking then decides to go for a ride. He is so intoxicated that he wrecks and hurts himself and his girlfriend that was riding with him. They make it seem like it is normal to be able to drink underage. This is not normal. This should not be happening. The media affects teens so greatly and underage drinking should not be as common as it is. This sends out a message to all the teens that it is acceptable to be drinking. We can say that we can do something before it is too late, but in reality, it is too late. I have heard of many stories of people that have experienced the consequences of underage drinking. Something must be done before this becomes too much of a problem.