Summary
Teen drug, alcohol, and tobacco use in the U.S. continues to decline, with record-low usage levels reported in 2023, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future survey.
Among 12th graders, 66% reported no recent use of alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, while 80% of 10th graders and 90% of 8th graders avoided these substances entirely.
Experts attribute the decline partly to reduced peer pressure during the pandemic.
However, nicotine pouch use has doubled among 12th graders, raising concerns.
Despite pop culture’s glamorization of smoking, teen cigarette use remains low.
Gaming and social media is the new addiction.
I’m 41, and my cousin has young teens. I asked “Do kids today even play video games?”
And she said “Not in the way you would think. It’s not about playstation or nintendo. It’s about cell phones and tablets.”
Which made me sad. App gaming is laaaaaame.
I hope that’s just your experience - being relegated to mobile games would be sad. I mean I’m addicted too but I recognize they’re just a time and attention waster.
My older teens are pretty avid gamers as are their friends. One of them started a gaming club at his school! They’re such great kids they sometimes let their Mom or me join a party, and they don’t laugh too hard. But seriously, that’s how they socialize ever since COViD. They’ll spend the entire night in a group chat, listening to music, sometimes teaming up sometimes not, just playing video games and spending time with friends. It works
So bad. It can’t be very good for developing brains either… Video games can be great for developing things like motor functioning and abstract reasoning, and so much of that is lost with the mindlessness of mobile gaming.
desktops/laptops, ps5, and Xbox all use apps.
This must be why “there’s an app for that” is a phrase that’s been around forever and has nothing to do with the proliferation of mobile devices, i.e. iPhone.
I think he meant mobile gaming, like angry birbs and raid shadow candy crunch.
Considering the article specifies that drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are “social” activities, I think this makes sense. It’s not good that kids are shifting to solitary activities
Gaming is very much a social activity.
Try finding a triple A game released in the last 10 years that hasnt been heavily designed around multiplayer.
It hasnt been until indie games have really caught on, perhaps as a result of the shift towards open world multiplayer gaming that now dominates, that there is still a market for those types of games.
I know multiple married people that used gaming to connect with each other when they had to be apart.
I was actually on one of those married couples first date because they played league of legends, and that was how I even knew them.
What? In 2024 alone, would you say games like Alan Wake 2, Baldurs Gate 3 or Elden Ring are “heavily designed around multiplayer”?
Sure you have your FIFA’s and CoD and a bunch of other MP games, but single player games are still a thing.
And honestly, my understanding is that the multiplayer games aren’t very social: they’re almost always using ranked but otherwise random matchmaker settings that mean instead of socializing and getting to know people, you meet your single serving friends and then barely ever see them again.
Depends on the game… I used to play Overwatch, years ago, with a handful of friends regularly, and it was most certainly a social experience.
cyberpunk 2077
Thats one example, my point is only that there arent many titles, not that they dont exist
It’s solitary social activity. Going out and seeing real people can’t be compared to a night gaming. The fact that people don’t see each other is actually a very bad thing because it could be a sign of greater depression and loneliness
If you saw the people I did throughout life, you’d want to stay in the basement as well.
Glad to hear you have met good people throughout life. Just keep in mind not everyone has thar experience.
I couldn’t stand staying indoors all day for work and then never going outside when not at work, it’s too heavy for me
Sorry but that’s like saying social media isnt a social activity. Yes there is s variety of ways to engage with it, but it is something that is causing people to connect with others from a distance.
Its also like saying long distance relationships arent real relationships which would be a ridiculous thing to claim
I believe social media isn’t a social activity because you are laying down on your bed typing on your phone chasing likes and replies. And also comparing a long distance relationship to an in-person one is ridiculous. They are completely different because you are not talking to a person, you are talking to a screen. There is absolutely no comparison to be made between online social activities and real life ones. Talking or gaming online is absolutely different from going out with friends at a chalet for a weekend and it’s a ridiculous thing to say they are similar
We are at an en passe then as we have fundamentally different perspectives on socializing
This. There is no decline at all, I assume. Just an extreme switch to something even more powerful.
Yeah as much as this is good news, I think it’s just a sign of changes that have come in the digital age. Young people go out less in general, because their social life is all online. This is probably safer for them at the end of the day - less driving and less access to substances through friends. But still… the fact that young people are glued to their screens all the time is disturbing. Their lives may be longer, but what is the point of living when all you do is sit inside and consume social media?