Television and our surrounding media promote and normalize the idea of addictive substances. Their portrayals of substance use on television create images that many viewers are provided with and can be heavily influenced by these scenes. Coming to the understanding that without change, substance use will continue to grow in society, and so will addictions and overdoses. After exploring substance use in television, there is an increased risk of the use of smoking, alcohol, and drugs in adolescents, since television has negatively influenced the audience into personalizing and falsely relating these substances to current reality. The commonality of substances has compromised many situations in television. It’s important to acknowledge that substance use in these networks are used for the purpose of entertainment and has extensively grown throughout the years. The audience can often be influenced by the good and bad circumstances they observe and are exposed to when watching television. A
Producers glamorize these addictions which disassociate the difference between the illusion of substance use through television compared to how critical its use can be in reality. Television productions falsely and illogically create representations of substances that greatly affect younger viewers, teenagers, and adults. With this, addiction is not only displayed but in fact, glorified at such standards. Referring back to American Addiction Centers , the average teenager is exposed to almost 85 drug references a day in popular music. Even with role models like people’s favorite celebrities, individuals are brought a visible example of what they are encouraged to engage in. This affects our behavior, relationships, and decision-making, and can interrupt our personal thought processes. More specifically, substance use in television being used by well-known celebrities, music artists, and social media influencers can create the example that viewers (and fans) so often look up to. “It is