|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Pain is no longer something that originates in a physician’s office for so many youths. Pain can
begin with just a click or a late night scroll on a cell phone.
What used to be prescribed only by a doctor can be seen on social media sites today. Dealers no longer need corners because illegal drugs can be sold online and via messaging services.
Opioids can be attained within a few minutes by teens and adults. An International Narcotics Control Board report launched in 2024 started unraveling the reason why drugs have significantly affected the younger generation because of the internet’s role in the sale of drugs and influencing drug use among people today.
Teens are also impacted by what is happening on the internet. A study published in 2024 in the
publication Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatr’ reveals teens who view posts about
drugs use those same drugs within a day or two.
A cell phone in one’s pocket may contain powers beyond those generated by a billboard or an
advertisement.
Communities that were already hurt by the first wave of the opioid crisis are now facing a new wave fueled by technology. Families struggle to understand sudden changes in behavior.
Hospitals see more people coming in for help. Teachers notice students who look stressed even
when they insist they are doing fine.
The era of painkillers may be a different one, but the problem is most definitely an ongoing one
because, instead of being solved, it simply manifests itself in a new form.
What is needed today is a new form of awareness. Awareness is much more than realizing what is written on a bottle of prescription drugs, but realizing what is happening on the internet and how one can be led astray without making a sound.
This article was written as part of a program to educate youth and others about Alameda County’s opioid crisis, prevention and treatment options. The program is funded by the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department and the grant is administered by Three Valleys Community Foundation.
