ABSTRACT
There are a number of conundrums surrounding how young people learn about drinking and learn how to drink. When studying how young people learn about drinking, one must consider the many and varied factors in an adolescent's world that subtly, indirectly, and directly influence attitudes and practices that shape alcohol-related behavior. Factors that influence learning about drinking may be as subtle as a reference to alcohol in the lyrics of a song or as direct and obvious as the information on an alcohol-specific Internet website. Influences as diverse as price, advertising and availability, local norms regarding consumption, religion, and the death of a friend in an automobile crash could all affect a young person's attitudes and practices in regard to alcohol.
