WASHINGTON – Substance abuse is a bigger problem for adolescents who daily spend time on social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace, as 70% of American adolescents say they do, according to a survey released Aug. 24 by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
Of those adolescents, 26% reported drinking alcohol, 10% reported using tobacco, and 13% reported using marijuana. The numbers are much lower for adolescents who do not frequent these sites: 9% for alcohol, 2% for tobacco, and 7% for marijuana.
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In addition, adolescents who had seen photos on social networking sites of children and adolescents who were drunk, passed out, or using drugs had a greater likelihood of substance abuse and were more likely to have easy access to alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drugs without a prescription.
CASA Columbia randomly selected households and surveyed more than 2,000 adolescents aged 12-17 years – and about 500 of their parents – over the telephone and the Internet. CASA conducted this 16th annual national survey during March-May 2011, not to determine the percentage of teens who smoke, drink, and use drugs, but rather to identify factors that affect the likelihood of substance abuse.
"We’re not talking about causation here. We’re talking about association," the center’s founder and chairman, Joseph A. Califano, Jr. said at a press conference in Washington announcing the results. "We think it would be an important healthy factor for these pictures not to be on social networking sites."
The CASA report also included several findings about cyber bullying, which often occurs through social networking:
• Nineteen percent of adolescents said they had been the target of "mean or embarrassing" posts online;
• Twenty-five percent of girls have been "cyberbullied," compared with 14% of boys;
• Adolescents who have been cyberbullied are more than twice as likely to have used tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana as are those who have not been cyberbullied, and they are almost twice as likely to say that they are likely to try drugs in the future.
The CASA survey results also showed that almost one-third of adolescents watch "suggestive teen programming," such as "Gossip Girl," or "16 and Pregnant," or "Skins," and they were twice as likely to have used tobacco and almost twice as likely to have used alcohol as were teens who did not watch these shows. Easier access to these substances also was associated with watching these shows.
Dr. John R. Knight, a pediatrician who directs the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Children’s Hospital Boston, said in an interview that he was not surprised by the survey results. "The only thing that’s surprising to me is that the media companies haven’t done anything about it," he said.
On MTV’s "Jersey Shore," a reality show mentioned in the survey, young adults regularly consume excessive amounts of alcohol. Dr. Knight said he turned on the show one time and was "appalled."
Multiple studies have confirmed that the likelihood of substance abuse by teenagers increases when they are exposed to mass media that show tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs in a positive or glamorous light. And in the 1990s, the medical community fought to oust the cartoon character Joe Camel from cigarette advertisements, because it appeared to target children.
But online social networking is a relatively new phenomenon – and one that has helped teens overcome addictions by connecting them with online support groups.
"Social networking is a two-edged sword," said Dr. Knight, who was not affiliated with the CASA report. "It can be destructive, but it also helps young people in recovery from substance abuse."
Of parents surveyed, 89% did not think social networking sites increased the likelihood of drug use for teens, and 87% thought the same about alcohol.
Lisa J. Merlo, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist with expertise in this area, said in an interview that it is important to ask adolescents about the amount of time they spend on social networking sites. Dr. Merlo of the University of Florida, Gainesville, who was not affiliated with the CASA report, also advised talking to parents about the importance of monitoring teens’ online activity – which 64% of parents in the survey said they do.
The report noted that teens who eat dinner with their families five to seven times a week do not have as high a risk for substance abuse as do those teens who have infrequent family dinners.
Mr. Califano reprimanded social networking sites for allowing the display of pictures of children and teens drunk, passed out, or using drugs. "We think it would be an important healthy factor for these pictures not to be on social networking sites. ... Continuing to provide the electronic vehicle for transmitting such images constitutes electronic child abuse," he said in a statement accompanying the survey report.