Underage Drinking Culture

In the media, alcohol consumption is frequently portrayed as a regular social activity and glorifies both alcohol abuse and underage consumption. These messages are sent through a variety of media platforms such as, television, advertisements (print and digital), and networking websites. The messages being sent to audiences promote and encourage people to partake in such activity. Underage audiences are easily manipulated into believing that what they see in the media, is an accurate representation of social normalities. This is an important topic to examine because the underage drinking culture and alcohol abuse as become a prominent issue in the United States and consequences are deadly. This paper will discuss the use and display of alcohol

However, according to Montonen’s Alcohol and the Media, the media believes they are using alcohol topics as a way to teach audiences of the issues at hand (Winett 1997: 358). Montonen disagrees because “‘it creates an illusion that something is being done to address a societal problem’” (Winnett 1997:358); but in reality, the constant exposure is simply making the societal problems worse. The hypodermic needle model, also known as the magic bullet, is known for directly infusing messages to audiences and those messages then are directly accepted due to audience passiveness. The constant viewing of alcohol consumption does not mean audiences are learning from the media, however they begin to believe it is

It is evident that media convinces audiences that there is a correct viewpoint of different ideas and it can be difficult for viewers to look past social constructions of the media. Therefore, just because most television shows portray teenagers and college students rapidly consuming alcohol and being intoxicated, it does not mean that that is “normal”. The media is extremely powerful, but it ultimately comes down to a view to create personal beliefs and values. So, when people begin to abuse alcohol, the media makes it seem as if a person’s actions are normal, which makes the issue at hand