Truemors
is reporting from
Member
NP Rank:
NP Rank:
'Young and Stupid' Celebs Giving 20-something Peers a Bad Name
Share:
by Tina Kells | February 20, 2009 at 11:49 am
412 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment
Photos
Drug use, steroid abuse, domestic assault... no matter what you have done or how you have behaved the message in the media these days is that being "young" is an excuse for pretty much anything.
Alexander Rodriguez talking to the media earlier this week: "I was 24; I was 25. I was young initially. I was curious." He called his cousin, who injected him with drugs, and himself ignorant, saying they were "two guys doing an immature thing."
photos of Michael Phelps emerged showing the swimming star smoking marijuana from a bong. On Feb. 1, Phelps posted the following apology on his Facebook fan page:"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I’m 23-years-old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public – it will not happen again."
R&B star Chris Brown's for his alleged abuse of Rihanna. "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," he wrote. "I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God's help, to emerging a better person."
But is being young really an excuse for bad behavior? Do we live in a world where it is becoming the norm to make obviously bad choices while you are young? Is twenty-something really too young for a person to know the difference between a good decision and a bad one?
While those in the spotlight may suggest that being young is a free pass on behaving badly the statistics show that most twenty-somethings today have their acts together. Despite the apparent proliferation of public drug and alcohol use among young celebrities the average person under the age of 25 seems to be behaving very differently.
The annual report issued today by the U.N. International Narcotics Control Board shows that drug use in all categories except prescription drugs has substantially decreased for young people between the ages of 12-25. The report states that drug use among young people, particularly the use of marijuana, has gone down by 24 percent over the past 8 years.
There are an estimated 19.9 million Americans aged 12 years or older who are considered current illicit drug users, according to a 2007 U.S. government survey.
The INCB report said the drop in drug use among people aged 12-17 "is mostly attributed to a decrease in the abuse of cannabis; however there has also been a decrease in the abuse of almost all other drugs."
Among young adults, aged 18-25 years, abuse fell in all drug categories except pain relievers, it said.
After cannabis, prescription drugs are the most commonly abused substances.
The report said the non-medical use of prescription pain relievers in the last month by young adults rose from 4.1 percent in 2002 to 4.6 percent in 2007.
The INCB said the drop-off in cannabis use resulted from increased perceived risks of smoking the drug, perhaps due to anti-drug education campaigns.
Videos
So the suggestion by young stars like Michael Phelps that using marijuana or other illicit drugs is somehow a "youthful" decision doesn't seem to measure up to actual statistics. In reality the list of stars who have used being young as an excuse for bad personal choices are doing a great disservice to their not-famous peers.
In the past decade young people have shown an increased maturity when it comes to decision making around drug use. Twenty-somethings everywhere should be calling out their so-called role models for giving their generation such a bad name. A bad decision is a bad decision no matter how old, or young, you may be.
What is NowPublic?
NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.
Crowd Power
jay west photography
Austin, Texas, United States
Tina Kells
Vancouver, Canada
Pokerazzo
Longwood, Florida, United StatesEve76
United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 07:27 on February 28th, 2009
i'm in my 50's and i disagree with anyone who claims that most 20 somethings have their act together./
most(not all but most)of the 20 somethings i come into contact with are so ridiculously cocky and have their priorities screwed around.
example:
Most 20 somethings i talk believe pot should be legalised.and even though i point out legitimate reason s to why they shouldn't be,those reasons are always called bogus.
for example, even though recent studies prove what harm pot does to one's brain cells,one's reaction time (slows down immensely)and otherwise,the findings go totally over their heads and they just either claim that the studies are false and,or concocted by the government to keep pot illegal./.
that opoinion of itself is enough to sufficientlycombat whatever one says from that point on regarding any studies(in the mind of the twenty something).
but i use the pot thing as just one good example/
there's so many that i won't go into any of them. here./
while my generation saw 20 something as an age to eventually mature from and lose that
drugs ,sex and rock and roll priority regarding life,
i don't see that the 20 somethings of today will shed that way of thinking.
i believe that those priorities will be forever ingrained in their heads or at least into their 40 or 50 somethings./ sad,but imho true!