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Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

(arstechnica.com)
349 points pseudolus | 5 comments | 17 Dec 24 23:44 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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Izkata ◴[20 Dec 24 19:12 UTC] No.42473930[source]▶
> But, according to data released Tuesday, the number of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders who collectively abstained from the use of alcohol, marijuana, or nicotine hit a new high this year. Use of illicit drugs also fell on the whole and use of non-heroin narcotics (Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet) hit an all-time low.

From an unexpected conversation with some younger people not long ago (though not this young), they may have just switched to LSD.

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fullshark ◴[20 Dec 24 19:13 UTC] No.42473936[source]▶
They switched to smartphones
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1. smartmic ◴[20 Dec 24 19:28 UTC] No.42474114[source]▶
This. And what about the psychosocial consequences, will it be an improvement compared to the other substances? I doubt it.
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2. prerok ◴[20 Dec 24 19:32 UTC] No.42474163[source]▶
While I don't think smartphone addiction should be taken lightly, it's still a far cry from substance abuse.
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3. alephnerd ◴[20 Dec 24 19:49 UTC] No.42474330[source]▶
> will it be an improvement compared to the other substances? I doubt it

Smartphone addiction beats having cirrhosis.

Therapy's cheaper than a liver transplant.

4. s1artibartfast ◴[20 Dec 24 20:01 UTC] No.42474443[source]▶
I'm not so sure, especially if you look at the sum societal impact, and not just the worst outcomes.

My personal take is that the net social impact is positive for alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens, and maybe some of the party drugs. For most people, they tend to be a social lubricant, tool for exploration, and source of fun.

I think that smartphone use probably balances out negatively. I think for most people, they have a pretty severe negative impact on their lives, and for some, an extremely negative impact.

The worst outcomes for drug use are probably worse than those for smartphones, but not by too much in my opinion.

5. Nextgrid ◴[20 Dec 24 20:38 UTC] No.42474794[source]▶
Substance abuse is pretty much universally understood to be wrong (including by the addicts themselves, but they lack the help to get out of it).

Social media usage on the other hand has been normalized and now humanity's social fabric is in the control of a few companies who are happy to rent it out to the highest bidder. This has obvious implications regarding democracy, surveillance, misinformation, etc.

From a society perspective, I'll take substance/alcohol abuse any day because it appears to be self-regulating at a level that while is higher than we'd like, is much lower than what it takes to destabilize society and democracy.