Drugs and Society Discussion Post Responses

We live in the 21st century, and people lived in the 20th century before that. A lot has changed because of social media and technology. Since social media plays a big role in our current century, let us take a quick look back at the 20th century. Even though social media did not exist, people still got exposure to drugs through different areas like movies, the news, and newspapers. This was the social media. Back then, drugs were seen as horrible and very fear-based, meaning they talked about them to scare people. Another way they would show drugs was to connect drugs directly to crime, and as a result, society saw the use of drugs as a problem and pointed to crime as a result of drugs. However, now in the 21st century, drugs are shown in many areas. Back then, it was shown that drugs were fear-based, but now they are shown to be negative and or dramatic. We also see more education and stories aimed at educating society. People in our society are also more open about the use of drugs and decide to share their experiences rather than hide away.

So, back to the original question: how does the media influence how people think about drugs? Well, the media in our current century has a major role in shaping the way people see drugs because society learns about drug use in many different ways. In our century, most people believe that what they see in movies or the news is accurate, but that is not always the case. A lot of outlets now do not represent or show the accuracy of drug use; instead, they decide to show the dramatic side of drugs instead of the reality. With different sources using dramatic language to represent drugs, this also shapes the language used in the media industry, because, as stated earlier, most sources try to lure people to watch or read what they have posted, and a common tactic is to use dramatic language.

So media does play a big role in shaping the way people see drugs, but what will you be doing to make sure you do not fall into the hands of media shaping the way you think about drugs?

Scout Bell:

As things continue to advance with medicine, legislation, and technology in the next 50 years. I wonder how the view on drugs might change. Will drugs become more of a risk or more of a benefit for society’s health? There will always be a huge need for drugs in medicine. But drugs can also be very harmful due to substance abuse and all the drug-related deaths that occur. Do you think future changes (~50 years) will reduce the harm of drugs or amplify drug related issues that are already prevalent.