Substances in the Media
Hollywood for the longest time has been the depiction of “what’s cool”.
Now it’s a combination of sports stars, Hollywood, and social media influencers. What hasn’t changed, is that substances have been in the media whether it’s TV, movies, YouTube or even TikTok videos. These platforms have such influence and with social media creating a sort of frenzy for likes and follows, I believe the impact is much greater.
These influencers often promote the usage of these substances, some being more extreme than tobacco and alcohol. The dangerous part is that with the introduction of Fentanyl, the stakes are much higher. The internet has created a frenzy of people trying to achieve as many likes and follows as possible and they have turned to promoting these substances as a way to look “hip” and “cool”. The reality is that these substances aren’t either of those, but they are more dangerous than ever.
There have been measures taken to limit exposure. I remember when Marlboro, a cigarette company used to have a huge presence in the Formula 1 and MotoGP world. They used to have their logos on race cars and eventually those were phased out for the well-being of the younger spectators. TV and Hollywood have done a part, well a few production companies rather, by limiting tobacco usage onscreen. Characters like the Kingpin from the comic books with his iconic cigar, had to be reimagined. The challenge with social media, is that there are no regulatory bodies to manage what can and can’t be on. What is in place are moderators to make sure the content is clean but with so much content going up daily, there’s no way to monitor what’s going on completely. Even if 10 people view a video, the effects can be damaging to so many more. The responsibility is really on the content creators to be mindful of what they are putting out to their audiences.
The challenge is that I don’t believe there is a perfect solution. I think the best approach though, is to educate ourselves, our children, our friends and loved ones about the effects of the substances. So, when you see them in the wild, you know what they do, and they could do. By understanding that it could potentially end your life, I don’t think the value is there to be doing them. We all have a life worth living, and it’s a shame to chance it for a temporary status amongst a crowd that won’t miss you. Meanwhile, your loved ones will, and they don’t care if you look cool, they already love you.
I’d like to propose an action for those who have read this article. If you are on social media, take an honest look at how much you use it, what you use it for, and ask yourself,” Is this the best thing I can do for me now?” I think the answer will be apparent. For the influencers or those with a significant following, please be mindful of what you’re posting. It can have big effects that you’re contributing to, and that goes for both good AND bad.
-Alex Meschi
Published April 15, 2021