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News Article Comments : Young people drink for 'something to do'
One in four young people drink alcohol to stave off boredom, according to a new survey by the industry-funded alcohol charity Drinkaware.
Drinking alcohol (25%) was the highest ranked activity among 16-17 year olds and above playing sports, reading or going to the gym or pool.
More than two-thirds (71%) said they drink once a week or more and 59% of professionals working with under-18s said they don't have the support and information needed to provide education about alcohol.
The research also showed that the average age to try alcohol is just 13.4 years and 14.2 years for getting drunk, while 60% see drinking as part of being young and sociable.
“Many young people unintentionally put themselves at risk when they drink alcohol and it is crucial that young people are given the facts about drinking and its effects," said Drinkaware chif executive Chris Sorek.
"Under-18s need to know what drinking does to their body and appearance — as well as how to avoid peer pressure and stay safe
| Author Name | Opinion | Reply |
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J Mark Dodds 06/07/2009 23:42:31 |
RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' Forgive me for asking how revelatory this research is really? Are these findings shocking? Exactly these observations were in discussion when I was at high school - hanging out at the bus stop with nothing to do surely has been a rule for more than a few decades has it not? It would seem that no one comissioning, carrying out or reporting this research has any recollection of being young and bored? I can remember grandparents grumbling about youngsters having nothing better to do than loafing around street corners drinking instead of going to the youth club when I was fifteen and younger growing up in Northumberland and Newcastle. My family visited friends in Southampton, Milton Keynes, Guildford and Yorkshire and it was exactly the same there. And in Southport and Manchester when at college. Underage drinking, smoking and doing other stupid things have been the antidote to boredom for generations of kids. I'm not advocating such behaviour in the youth of today - or any era for that matter - ever being fully OK but find it hard to cope with yet more of these shock stories in the media as if this is something new. My recollections of having read remarkably similar stories to this each decade since my youth aren't my imagination playing tricks on me. I hope. Is it not time that we grew up as a society and learned to acknowledge the repetitive behaviour of generation after generation of youth? It's been going on in northern cold countries for decades at least, if not hundreds of years, even since time began for all I know. This is what young people do. Isn't it? Rebelling, getting pissed off with older people and everyone else in society around them, behaving badly - aren't these the confused symptoms and pains of growing up in a complicated world? edited by: J Mark Dodds at: 06/07/2009 23:42:43 This post replies to this thread |
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| J Mark Dodds 06/07/2009 23:53:05 |
RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' Not everyone is prone to such behaviour, whether educated about the bad things that happen to you if you drink or not. It's not worrying about what drinking will to to them that prevents people drinking young, it's being able to be stimulated, and having something stimulating to do, that does it. The difficulty lies not so much in telling kids about the adverse health aspects of drinking - that's easy to do. What's hard to face up to is the fact that what is more likely to guide children's path to more interesting, healthier activities is better education all round, with far more good quality, accessible youth provision in sports, and arts and more than is readily available now. A much more expensive strategy than a distributing a load of leaflets and boring videos for high tech savvy yout' to get bored by. It's a tall order but unless the attention of a mature, responsible society which wishes to promote health and wellbeing for all its constituents, is turned to properly facing up to the true costs and concomitant benefits to us all of making our society a better place, we will be reading identical stories to this in the paper rounds for decades to come. Ed Balls knows this, let's hope he manages to break conventions down. And that's without even considering climate change and what that's going to do to the youth of tomorrow. edited by: J Mark Dodds at: 06/07/2009 23:53:21 This post replies to J Mark Dodds > RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' |
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George Ian 07/07/2009 00:24:57 |
RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' Mark, a long, but very well written and informed opinion - I concur exactly with what you write here... it was the same in the 60's, 70's, etc. (my era).... over 21's and no alcohol at all on sale on Sundays (I'll cite Scotland here,.. ) - we rebelled and got sh*tfaced in the parks for the sake of it. We were well educated (supposedly) but bored. Forgetting the tie issue for one moment, most of us who fight for the survival of the demonised British pub are responsible and experienced enough to have lived through this phase of adolesence, therefore empathise with the it. Consequently we ensure that it doesn't happen (or is arduously supervised) in or around our pubs. Perhaps the govt. ought to recognise this and facilitate properly trained 'purveyors' to operate on a level playing field - PubCo's and supermarkets with their differing agendas ensure that we cannot do this. This post replies to J Mark Dodds > RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' |
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| Deleted 07/07/2009 14:31:29 |
RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' Good post, Mark. I used to have a book called "Dying for a Drink: A no-nonsense guide for heavy drinkers". It was written by the psychiatrist Dr Tim Cantopher, sometime of the Priory clinic. It was a very good read and told the facts about alcohol and its effects in a straightforward and entertaining way. It was aimed at an adult market if I remember, but it would make an excellent basis for the writing of a book aimed at the younger and experimenting reader. They didn't teach us anything worth knowing about drink, drugs and smoking at school and that was in the eighties. I don't know what they do now. We were told that these things were generally a bad thing and to be avoided, which made most of us all the meagre to test them out. It is in the nature of adolescents to test limits and to get into trouble as they find where the boundaries are. Sadly some never learn. This post replies to J Mark Dodds > RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' |
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| Deleted 07/07/2009 14:51:02 |
RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' Not all kids drink through boredom, let us note. Many take to drink for the relief, albeit temporary, that it affords from such as bullying and personal issues that they find difficult to deal with because of the societal taboos that make them difficult to discuss. Whatever the reason for a young person to take up drinking, they should at least be made aware of the hazards of doing so. A licensee that I knew, kept my book behind her bar for a time as she was having trouble with one of her family members. It did the circuit of the regulars during quieter times and was generally well received. She realised the value of educating her customers. A customer who drinks themselves into an early grave is not a good thing and she'd rather keep them going for as long as possible. It's better for ambience and camaraderie and also the customer's family. We educate our younger ones well enough in the art of handling a ton or so of motor-car responsibly. We might take the same approach with alcohol. edited by: Deleted at: 07/07/2009 14:51:18 This post replies to Deleted > RE: Young people drink for 'something to do' |
