Social Welfare Media Analysis

Social Welfare Media Analysis

Introduction

Among the most common problems experienced in the world are drugs and substance abuse, as more people are using more drugs and becoming chronic substance users, which leads to addiction. This issue has gained a lot of attention, especially in the media, with reports of people dying from drug abuse. Drug use leads to drug addiction, which is a serious issue experienced in modern societies. It is an issue that countries all over the world have had to battle with. Off all the drugs available now, including cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and nicotine, alcohol stands out as the most widely used and most abused drug. A report by the Office for National Statistics in the UK stated that since the early 1990s, alcohol-related deaths doubled from 6.7 per 100, 000 people to 13.6 per 100,000 people in 2008 (ONSUK, 2013). It was estimated that in 2012, more than 200 million people corresponding to 5.2 percent of the world population between the age of 15 and 64 had used a drug, mainly substances belonging to opiates, cocaine, cannabis, or ATS group, at least once in the previous year (Word Drug Report, 2014). Canada is among the countries dealing with the issue of drug and substance abuse, especially with the recent opioid epidemic. In fact, in 2019, 24 percent of Canadians felt that opioid use was a crisis, while 46 percent felt that it is a serious problem. Drug and substance abuse is, therefore, a major issue facing different counties and measures to prevent and curb the issue, such as the use of mass media to propagate messages and information against the use and abuse of drugs and substances.

Section A: Literature Review

All over the world, drug and substance abuse is a huge problem, especially among younger people. Indeed, according to NACADA (2012), drug use continues to transpire as a strategy used by many young people to deal with their problems, such as unemployment and poor academic performance. Different biological, physiological, and social factors can increase an individual’s likelihood of having a drug and substance abuse disorder. Different people are exposed differently to these factors leading to drug and substance abuse. For instance, the issue of drug and alcohol abuse seems to be higher in some families compared to others, and this is due to the addictive environment of these families.

In most cases, symptoms of problematic use of addiction can be sporadic, and a person may experience periods of severe substance abuse as well as periods of control. For instance, casual consumption of drugs such as alcohol might develop into a problematic alcohol abuse if the person is unable to control his/her use due to factors such as stress. The issue of drugs and substance abuse negatively impacts society as it leads to less productivity. As more people fall into drug abuse, the economy is also affected as more people become less useful, especially in the corporate world. More to this, a lot of money is spent trying to rehabilitate the drug addicts, and this affects the economy of a country in general.

According to Statistics Canada (2015), in Canada, about 21 percent of the country’s population will meet the criteria of addiction in their lifetime. Alcohol is the most common substance for which people met the addiction criteria (Statistics Canada, 2015). According to CBC.com, 11 percent of Canadians suffer from drug or alcohol abuse. In 2002, substance abuse in Canada was estimated to cost more than 39 billion, with illicit drugs accounting for about 8 billion. In the same year, 1695 people died as a result of drug abuse. Nine hundred fifty-eight of these deaths were due to overdose, and 295 were suicide caused by drug abuse, while the remaining were as a result of drug-related illnesses such as Hepatitis and HIV. Canada also has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in the world, where more than 40 percent of the county’s population has used the drug in their lifetime. The use of illicit drugs in Canada is common among males than in females and among younger people ages 20 to 24 years (Elflein, 2020).

It is clear that the issue of drug and substance abuse is a major problem in Canada. As a result, services and supports for Canadians with this problem have evolved over many years against the background of a system in which health care falls under different types of jurisdiction, accountability, accessibility, ideology and sources of funding (National Treatment Strategy Working Group, 2008). In general, health and social service sectors offer services under regional jurisdiction from provincial and territorial funding. There have been suggestions aimed at curbing the issue of drug and alcohol abuse. For example, there have been new directions in alcohol policy. Over the past few years, initiatives to prevent alcohol problems concentrated on population-based controls such as restrictions on alcohol availability and taxation. Now, measures are aimed more at reducing the likelihood of problems resulting from drinking. Such measures are sometimes referred to as harm reduction measures or strategies. Apart from alcohol abuse, the opioid crisis is a major problem faced in Canada and measures to curb the issue have been developed and put in place. Measures such as reducing the administrative burden related to providing patients with effective treatment, addressing the health impact of the opioid crisis, reducing the stigma associated with substance use disorders and providing all-inclusive pain management for patients have been suggested.

Section B: Media Summary

As mentioned before, the issue of drug and substance abuse has been a major topic of discussion in the mass media. Over the past three decades, mass media has had the power to influence the public and shape society. Society is constantly bombarded with mass media messages from television, radio, newspapers, and the internet. Drugs and substance abuse is among the widely discussed topic in the media. It, therefore, has the power to propagate the issue or curb the issue, depending on how it presents it. Mass media is used to reach out to a huge number of people more effectively. This means that drugs such as alcohol, which is legal in many countries, can be advertised on the media. The marketing of alcohol has gone online as the industry tries to exploit different media tools to promote alcohol, especially to the younger people who are known to be avid alcohol users (Hughes et al. 2010). As a result, the media can act as a promoter of the use and abuse of alcohol. At the same time, the media can act as a way to curb the issue by conveying messages and information against the consumption of alcohol. Mass media reports of drugs and drug use are a daily occurrence. Research shows that contemporary media has been a major contributor to the use and abuse of drugs and substances. There are many advertisements on television from different organizations advertising beer.

What is more, “exposure to onscreen smoking in movies increases the probability that young people watching these movies will start smoking” (Montagne, 2011). An analysis of the videos on YouTube also found that most videos on tobacco are supportive of smoking. As DeJong & Winsten (1990) highlights, “many public health advocates assumed that the presentation of factual information through the media would automatically change people’s attitudes and lead to more healthful behavior. Subsequently, when several such campaigns produced disappointing results, this boundless optimism was replaced by the highly pessimistic view that mass media campaigns to change behavior are doomed to failure. Investigators recognized that a campaign could reinforce existing behavior, but this was viewed as the most that could be achieved.” This is proof that mass media is an instrument of generating moral degradation, and as much as people deny the fact that it promotes drug and substance abuse, this is the sad reality.

To ensure that the media presents the issue of drug and substance abuse more positively and avoid portraying false information that leads to more drug abuse cases, control and planning are recommended within the media. This means that whatever is being disseminated in the media should be carefully researched so that the harmful information being propagated can be filtered out and the useful one released to the public. More research will also help to identify the demographics and the target audience for certain information. For instance, on the issue of advertising legal drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes, research can help to identify the best method to advertise in such a way that the information does not get to the unintended audience such as the under-aged. Research on advertising will help with better planning. It will also help to determine the best way to convey certain messages without communicating messages that were not intended, such as putting it out that it is safe to smoke or drink alcohol.

Section C: Contrast

Contrary to what many people believe, the media is a major contributor to drug and substance abuse. As a result, the has been a great deal of interest in the role of mass media in drug and substance abuse, focusing mainly on alcohol, tobacco, and prescription medication. Much of this interest has also been in the influence of mass media on adolescents. The reality is, media messages on drugs and substances are pervasive, and the fact that the younger generation has frequent contact with mainstream media, more cases of drug abuse are rising. This research, at the very least, has shown that the media is an essential tool for influencing people’s attitudes and demand for drugs. Mass media, contrary to what many people think, propagates the use of drugs both internationally and unintentionally. The lack of control and regulation in the media has led to the distribution of false information on drugs, which leads to more people using drugs and abusing them. The main problem is as a result of different organizations, especially in the alcohol and beverage industry advertising their products on different media platforms such as TV, radio, and the internet. Also, one of the main perpetrators of drug and substance abuse, especially among the youth, is peer pressure. As a result of influence from their peers, many young people find themselves abusing drugs. There is no denying that social media has been the main cause of peer pressure as it brings many people together where they can be able to interact and exchange ideas. As a result, youths who are already using drugs influence others to get into the world of drugs and alcohol. As such, drugs and alcohol abuse has become “trendy” as some youths even go to the extent of shaming others who do not smoke or drink, because it is considered “cool” or “modern.”

The media presents itself as a platform for discouraging drug use and abuse through the messages accompanied by the advertisements discouraging people from using drugs. Still, the actual outcome is that more people end up using these drugs despite the media’s supposed warning against the use of these drugs. Instead of discouraging people from using drugs, the media encourages them to use drugs unknowingly. On the other hand, the media also encourages the use of drugs intentionally through the movies and music that portray the use of drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes as a recreational and harmless activity. As noted, “the impacts of mainstream media coverage of drug abuse issues have long been neglected by the alcohol and other drugs sector, and this has led to the increased use of these drugs” (Hughes et al. 2010). It is, therefore, important to ensure that more research is not on the relationship between the media and drug abuse, to identify the factors leading to more drug and substance abuse in relation to how the media portrays information such as in advertisement and entertainment (movies and music). Mass media will continue to be an important component of the long-term efforts to discourage irresponsible drinking and other substances abuse and promote abstinence among the youth (DeJong & Winsten, 1990). And therefore, since the media is one of the main reasons why drugs and substance abuse has become a major problem in modern society, control and regulation on what type of information is distributed and how it is distributed is required. As mentioned earlier, planning and control are required to ensure that information on the media does not encourage more drug abuse. This can be done by ensuring that advertisements on alcohol and other substances are carefully planned to filter the information being distributed through the media. Also, the information reaches the appropriate audience.

Conclusion.

This research concludes that the media is a major contributor to drugs and substance abuse, especially through the internet and social media. The research also concludes that the youth are the main victims of the media’s influence on drug and substance abuse as they are the main users of such media. The reality is that many people do not acknowledge that mass media, instead of discouraging drug and substance abuse, it is encouraging it. This research has, therefore, addressed the problem of drug abuse in contemporary society, which has been propagated by the presence of the media. In conclusion, the research has also highlighted some of the measures that need to be put in place to control and regulate the media to ensure that it does not encourage the problem of drug and substance abuse. However, more research is needed to establish better ways to ensure that messages propagated in the media do not encourage drug abuse, especially among the youth and better ways to pass information to the appropriate audience on promoting responsible drinking and avoid the negative consequence of other drugs.

References

DeJong, W., & Winsten, J. A. (1990). The use of mass media in substance abuse prevention. Health Affairs, 9(2), 30-46.

Hughes, C., Spicer, B., Lancaster, K., Matthew-Simmons, F., & Dillon, P. (2010). Media reporting on illicit drugs in Australia: Trends and impacts on youth attitudes to illicit drug use. Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

Elflein, J. (2020). Topic: Drug use in Canada. www.statista.com. Retrieved 4 March 2020, from https://www.statista.com/topics/4533/drug-use-in-canada/.

Montagne, M. (2011). Drugs and the media: An introduction. Substance use & misuse, 46(7), 849-851.

NACADA, (2012). Report on Rapid Situation Assessment of drug and substance abuse in Kenya. Nairobi. Government Printer

National Treatment Strategy Working Group. (2008). A systems approach to substance use in Canada: Recommendations for a national treatment strategy. National Framework for Action to Reduce the Harms Associated with Alcohol and Other Drugs and Substances in Canada.

Statistics Canada. (2015). Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in Canada. Retrieved from: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2013001/article/11855-eng.htm

Word Drug Report, (2014).United Nations Publication, Sales No. E.14. X17,Vienna. Austria.