TORONTO – American teenagers who spend time on social networking websites are at an increased risk of smoking, drinking and drug abuse, according to an annual back-to-school survey released Wednesday from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA).
The CASA Columbia researchers found approximately 17 million U.S. teens who spend time on social websites like Facebook, MySpace and other networks are five times as likely to smoke, three times as likely to drink alcohol and twice as likely to use marijuana than their peers who spend no time on social networking sites in a typical day.
What’s more, the findings suggest parents are out of touch with their kids’ web habits. Eighty-seven per cent of parents surveyed said they think spending time on social networking sites does not make it more likely their child will drink alcohol. Eighty-nine per cent of parents believe social websites would not make their child more likely to use drugs.
Researchers also tracked the effect of viewing compromising photographs of teens on social networking sites. Teenagers who saw Facebook or MySpace photos of their peers getting drunk or using drugs were much likelier to dabble in drugs, prescription drugs and alcohol abuse.
It seems teens are also not immune to the harmful effects of viewing suggestive programming on television.
In a typical week, one-third of American teens tune in to reality TV shows like Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, and teen drams like Skins or Gossip Girl. Of that group, teens are twice as likely to smoke, nearly twice as likely to drink alcohol and over one-and-a-half times as likely to use marijuana compared to teens who do not watch suggestive teen reality and drama programs.
"The time has come for those who operate and profit from social networking sites like Facebook to deploy their technological expertise to curb such images and to deny use of their sites to children and teens who post pictures of themselves and their friends drunk, passed out or using drugs,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA Columbia's founder and chairman and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
“Continuing to provide the electronic vehicle for transmitting such images constitutes electronic child abuse," Califano said.
For additional key findings, and to view the complete survey, visit The National Center on Addition and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
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