Friday August 26, 2011 12:11:52 PM, IANS

London: Teenagers using social networking sites like Facebook are risking themselves to end up being addicted to drink and drugs, researchers have found.

Scientists at the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse (Casa) at Columbia University, surveyed over 1,000 children aged between 12 and 17 via an online poll and another 1,000 by telephone, Daily Mail reported.

It was observed teenagers spending any time on social networks daily were five times as likely to smoke than those who didn't visit such sites. They were also three times more likely to drink alcohol and had double the chance of smoking cannabis.

The nationally-representative survey indicated that peer pressure was playing a major role, with 40 percent of the teenagers seeing pictures of friends getting drunk on sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Half of the youngsters saying that they watched pictures of people being drunk, passed out, or using drugs first saw such images when they were just 13 or even younger.

Joseph Califano, Jr who is CASA Columbia's Founder and Chairman and former US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare said: "The relationship of social networking site images of kids drunk, passed out, or using drugs and of suggestive teen programming to increased teen risk of substance abuse offers grotesque confirmation of the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.

"The time has come for those who operate and profit from social networking sites like Facebook to deploy their technological expertise to curb such images and to deny use of their sites to children and teens who post pictures of themselves and their friends drunk, passed out or using drugs."

 

Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

Parliament to discuss three versions of Lokpal bill Friday: Khurshid

Parliament will discuss three versions of the Lokpal bill Friday, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said here Thursday. "We will discuss the   »

Government agrees to Team Anna's conditions: Deshmukh

LNJP Hospital gears up to receive Hazare

PM, parliament urge Anna to end fast

  Most Read

Advani sees flaws in Jan Lokpal Bill, says it can't get passed

Some provisions of the Jan Lokpal bill had inherent flaws and parliament would find it difficult to pass it in its present form, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani said Friday in  »

Lesser-known Annas also fast across the country

Away from media glare, many people across India have been fasting in solidarity with social activist Anna Hazare, whose 10-day-old fast against corruption has caught global attention. The condition of some of  »

Disbelief, praise and fear in Dinesh Yadav's village

  News Pick

Rajya Sabha passes teachers' education council bill

The Rajya Sabha Thursday passed a bill for re-creating a national body to regulate schools and teachers. The National Council of Teachers Education (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was passed by the upper house, restoring the    »

Is tobacco plastic sachet ban being implemented, SC asks

More than five months after the ban on the use of plastic pouches to pack chewing tobacco and pan masala came into effect, the Supreme Court Thursday asked the government to report how its proscription order  »

In Bihar, two and a half days of floods have been turned into a two-and-a-half-month-long affair so that the politics over relief continues, says one of India's leading river researchers. Solutions to tackle the recurring "man-made"   »

Two Indians and two persons of Indian origin figure among Top 35 Innovators under 35 in the latest list of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Technology Review, the world's oldest Technology Magazine  »

Picture of the Day

Anna mocks Congress charge of RSS, BJP support. But in Malegaon, BJP is using hoardings to garner support for Hazare. Also, there are good number of BJP workers and hardcore RSS activists in the rallies called to support Hazare.

(Photo: ummid.com)