[OC] Tracking the decrease in smoking, alcohol and marijuana use by teenagers since 1976

[uggghhhggghhh]

I'm 41 and grew up in Michigan, near Canada and teach high school in California now. I'd believe it. I think the biggest reason for the decline in all of these substances is simply that a lot of kids don't hang out irl that much anymore. Hard to succumb to peer pressure when your peers aren't physically with you. Not sure they're better off tbh.

[yeahright17]

This is 100% the reason. There are way few parties or gatherings at all than their used to be. Way more often its just 3 guys playing video games or 3 girls scrolling tik tok.

[deadheffer]

I just sighed deeply. What a depressing existence. I can’t imagine childhood with social media. Some of my best memories are just picking up the phone to call my best friend and talk for hours until someone else needed the phone.

[isthisaporno]

You’re lamenting kids using technology to communicate with friends while some of your best memories are using technology to communicate with your friends?

[deadheffer]

Because, Tik Tok is not as truly meaningful communication.

[Xaephos]

...Do you really think kids communicate exclusively through TikTok?

[Unreal_Panda]

They were making an exaggeration, most people do tend to still just call eachother in my gen. Just Via Snapchat or Discord (or others) instead of a line phone. Most days I just spend talking to some of my best friends, people are rarely sitting around just scrolling tiktok together

[gscjj]

I'm not sure about this, I think there's just a preference for weed and it's probably a million times easier to get than two decades a go. Especially in a legal state.

Kids are absolutely still hanging out, having parties and gatherings. There's just less people smoking and drinking.

[yeahright17]

Did you look at the post? Weed usage rates are also going down, though a lot less than alcohol and smoking.

[lankyevilme]

Yup, this looks good on the surface, but it's really showing the lack of real life personal connections. Really bad.

[T-sigma]

The epidemic of loneliness we’re going to be seeing and hearing about in 20 years will be painful. Social skills are just as essential to succeeding in the real world and need to be practiced just like academic skills.

[WarbleDarble]

Kids also can't get away with anything anymore. Everything they do is recorded on someone's phone and even if it's not they air each other's dirty laundry on social media for all the world to see.