ABSTRACT
This chapter tends to associate substance use with teens, despite the fact that adults are actually more likely to smoke, drink, and use illegal drugs. Built on the faulty assumption that kids are both uniquely impacted by media messages and the key players in the substance-abuse problem, many people presume that popular culture is the central culprit in creating use and abuse. Both of these assumptions help us overlook significant economic, ethnic, and gender disparities that tend to get lost when the peoples focus so much on popular culture. Besides educational competition, the social construction of gender often encourages risk-taking behavior among men. As something that can shatter families, exacerbate poverty, and limit educational opportunities—those with drug convictions are not eligible for federal financial aid—substance abuse is too serious an issue to blame primarily on popular culture. A significant portion of the population begins taking drugs as adults, contrary to conventional wisdom.
