Vineta+S’s+2017+OpEd+Article


 * WHEN YOUR KID GROWS UP IN A SOCIETY WHERE ALCOHOL IS PROMOTED ON EVERY CORNER AND SOCIALLY ACCEPTED NO SHIT YOUR KID IS PROBABLY GONNA END UP AN ALCOHOLIC OR A VICTIM OF ONE ** Vineta Sondors

No, not just socially accepted— socially expected.

In 2005, underage drinking was estimated to account for between 11% and 20% of the U.S. alcohol market. 1 These alcohol producers sure know it, too. They purposefully create drinks to appeal to younger audience such as test tube “shots,” containers that look like TNT explosives, and drinks that change the color of the drinker’s tongue. 2 As most major industries have figured out by now, kids make great product consumers. They see something on TV that looks cool to them, bug their parents (or an older family member/friend/stranger) to buy it for them, and they manage to get their hands on whatever it is that catches their eye.

Television is an entire category of alcohol advertisement on its own. Just in the most recent 2017 Super Bowl, alcohol company Bud Light was a founding sponsor, meaning their financial support, community involvement and “more importantly, the positive impact of their participation will benefit Houston long after the game ends”. 3 Every American loves a good ol’ game of tossin’ the pigskin, so when you think about all the minors that must have watched the Super Bowl out of the 111+ million viewers this year, it makes you wonder how many of them will end up becoming a slave to the control of Bud Light’s ads. 4 This being said, commercials have an incredible influence on their audience— especially youth— even if you consciously disagree, because subconsciously they still work to get you to desire whatever they’re advertising. A 1985 study found that high school boys who were heavier television viewers drank more than lighter viewers, and similarly another study proved that those heavier viewers were more likely to agree that people who drink are happy and you have to drink to have fun at a sporting event. 5 Despite these statistics being fairly outdated, one can only imagine how much more relevant they have become today with the continuous increase in technological advancements, alcohol production, marketing/advertising, and kids who sit on their asses watching TV all day.

Equally prevalent in today’s society is suggestive references to alcohol in clothing and accessories targeted towards minors. Take Urban Outfitters for example, a store with no specific age range but leaning towards adolescents with a handful of pre-teens. In 2012 parents became upset with [|these alcohol-related graphic tees], and understandably so.



Not only are they outright cringey and not even cute, some little girl is probably going to find them witty and end up supporting these kinds of products with or without realizing the bigger message being delivered. However, this is not the only type of similar product being sold by Urban Outfitters. They also sell various items for alcohol itself, such as [|this flask] which has “WHISKEY BUSINESS” boldly printed on the side. Advertised as “perfectly portable” with a “fun graphic” as “a great gift idea!”, nowhere on the w ebsite does it warn that whiskey or any other alcohol intended to be stored in the flask could be like…. harmful.. and uhh.. illegal if you’re under 21. It seems kind of ironic that it is illegal for a minor to buy a product promoting sexual activity or pornography (which serves as pleasure WITHOUT damage to self or others) from such a store, but it is perfectly accepted for a minor to buy a product promoting often-under-age alcohol consumption (which serves as pleasure WITH damage to self or others) from such a store. Huh. Interesting.

Selling these types of products communicates that alcohol is an A-OK, fun thing to indulge in rather than the destructive, depressant drug that it is. The result of this is that 15-and-16-year-old kids are beginning to believe that in order to have a good time or fit in with the crowd, they need to soil their sobriety with alcohol. Why shouldn’t they? They’ve grown up in a household where alcohol is always around, whether it’s a beer chilling in the fridge or mom’s wine party with all her drunk-mom-friends, so by the time kids reach adolescence they’re familiar with how these “adult beverages” look, smell, and most likely taste. They go to a party and their friends are drinking too. They witness billboards, commercials, movies, clothes, music, stories, and more influences that promote alcohol consumption, usually in a positive light. Still not convinced? Here are a few more absurd examples of where alcohol advertisement can be found in public:

When images and slogans of alcohol are plastered everywhere it’s kind of hard to miss. “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, look mommy, it’s a flying Hornitos tequila!” Who’s going to see these? Literally everyone who steps outside of the house and glances around every once in awhile!

Even when alcohol is taught in school as a bad habit, such as [|Foothill Technology High School's "Every 15 Minutes"] presentation, the emotional effect is not always a long lasting one. When a teen is facing a keg at a rager, wanting to fit in and look impressive with chants of “Chug! Chug! Chug!” surrounding them, do you really think that anti-alcohol presentation they had to watch last year is what is on their mind at that moment?

Unfortunately teaching teens that alcohol is bad, should never be consumed until 21 years of age, and before driving is simply ineffective to an extent because the reality is many people, especially Americans, are going to drink alcohol even if it’s bad, they’re under 21, and before driving. I’m not here to put an end to alcohol, I’m not here to blame anyone who has ever let liquor touch their lips, and I’m not here to lecture you on all the dangers of drinking because hopefully you are aware. Alcohol has always been around and such a classic part of American culture that to put an end to it permanently is a far fetched idea to grasp, much less accomplish. I’m here to rake muck upon the the alcohol industry who know damn well they’re targeting little kids, and all the alcohol influences that follow suit. I hope that the children of wine moms and whiskey dads don’t grow up to be a victim of the beverages that control lives so powerfully. I hope adolescents who go to parties with friends learn that their happiness doesn’t live in the bottom of a beer bottle. I hope that safety, help, and love can be given to those who abuse the drink whether by choice or not, because I’ve seen the destruction it has caused. I hope that binge-drinking is not attempted out of desire for recognition and that it is no longer glorified in a luxurious light. But most of all, I hope that if you choose to consume alcohol that you’ll keep yourself and your loved ones in mind, because you never know how it could suddenly end.

1 - Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth

2- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 1999 National Household Survey Data

3- Houston 2017 Super Bowl Founding Sponsors

4- CNN

5- National Center for Biotechnology Information- Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility (2004)