Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Foursome sex addicts, drugs and pornography – Part 2

By Emmanuel Onwubiko
23 April 2019   |   3:10 am
On Effects of drugs abuse among the students these researchers being consulted say that: Substance abuse occurs when someone uses a drug outside of how it was intended or prescribed.  This in their expert opinion can include taking a drug without a prescription to increase concentration or smoking marijuana in order to relax. “Although the signs…

Hard Drugs, Photo. The Conversation

On Effects of drugs abuse among the students these researchers being consulted say that: Substance abuse occurs when someone uses a drug outside of how it was intended or prescribed. 

This in their expert opinion can include taking a drug without a prescription to increase concentration or smoking marijuana in order to relax.

“Although the signs and symptoms of drug or alcohol abuse vary based on the substance, there are often psychological patterns that emerge in those who are consistently abusing.

While some personality changes can be attributed to other stressors, dramatic shifts that are otherwise unexplained may signal something is wrong. Some ways to tell if a college student is abusing drugs or alcohol include:
Decreased interest in classes and extracurricular activities
Drastic change in grades or academic performance
Shifts in sleeping patterns or fluctuations in weight
Time spent in new social circles, especially among those who have a reputation of abuse
Withdrawing from friends or acting secretive
Unexplained changes in behavior or personality
Uncharacteristic mood swings, depression or irritability

In what perhaps represents the most frightening aspects of these reflections, the scientists say that Substance abuse does not discriminate. No one, regardless of whether they come from a good family or have a high GPA, is immune to drug abuse.

There is no “type” of drug addict, as substance abuse can affect anyone.

They then stated that based on social pressures, expectations and availability of certain drugs, there are some demographics on college campuses that may be at a higher risk of encountering and abusing drugs. These include:
Fraternity and sorority members
Campus athletes
Students with mental health concerns
Residents of on-campus housing and dorms
Students facing extreme amounts of stress
Additionally, research has shown that males are more likely than females to both abuse drugs and face severe consequences for it, including: arrest, injury and even death.

Universally, they affirmed that alcohol has never lost its appeal among college kids. Drinking games that can lead to dangerous binge drinking practices are a staple at most college parties, both on and off campus. 

In fact, according to statistics published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, heavy alcohol use is actually higher among college students versus their non-college peers. 

Data collected in the 2015 Monitoring the Future survey show that while 24.9% of young adults who do not attend college have been intoxicated in the last month, 38.4% of college students report being drunk in the last month. 

Similar results demonstrate that 31.9% of the college students surveyed reported participating in binge drinking in the past two weeks, versus only 23.7% of non-college attending young adults.

In their findings from these European nations and Australia when it comes to drug abuse among college students, marijuana reigns as the drug of choice. 

Hear them: “In fact, daily marijuana use among college students in the U.S. is now at the highest level since 1980. The increase may be attributed to the growing belief in recent years that regular marijuana use is not harmful or dangerous. 

In 2006, 55% college-aged respondents in the Monitoring the Future survey considered marijuana use as dangerous, where in the same survey in 2014 only 35% considered it dangerous. In fact, the 2014 monitoring the Future survey reported that daily marijuana use surpassed daily cigarette smoking for the first time.”

“The upward trend for smoking marijuana in college appears to follow the level of use of marijuana among high school seniors. According to Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator of the study, “It’s clear that for the past seven or eight years there has been an increase in marijuana use among the nation’s college students, and this largely parallels an increase we have been seeing among high school seniors.” These researches then gave us what called ‘Prescription “Study Drugs” Abused at College Campuses’.

According to them, not all drug abuse among college students involves illicit substances. This they say so because Amphetamines in the ADHD category, such as Adder all, Ritalin, and Vyvanse, have become de rigueur at college campuses right alongside energy drinks and Starbucks confections. Let’s see what pornography is before we make quick recommendations. 
 
Pornography may be defined as “the depiction of erotic behavior (sexual display in pictures or writing) that is intended to cause sexual excitement” in the viewer. 

Over the past decade there has been a large increase in the pornographic material that is available to both adults and children. “While the exact amount of revenue that the pornography industry generates in this country is unclear, the Internet filtering service Covenant Eyes estimates the 2012 U.S. revenue to be around $8 billion.”  

Statistically, it is estimated that since 2007, revenue has declined by 50%, but this decline is likely due to the availability of more free online pornography and not to a total decline in pornography usage. 

In 2008, the Internet and marketing firm Hitwise reported that globally 40,634 web sites distributed pornography. Who then consumes these pornographic materials? In 2014 Barna Group survey revealed the following demographic data regarding pornography use by American adults: Among males 18-30 years old, 79% viewed pornography once per month and 63% viewed pornography greater than once per week. Among males 31-49 years old, 67% viewed pornography once per month and 38% viewed pornography greater than once per week.

Among males 50-68 years old, 49% viewed pornography once per month and 25% viewed pornography greater than once per week. Among females 18-30 years old, 34% viewed pornography once per month and 19% viewed pornography more than once per week.

Among females 31-49 years old, 16% viewed pornography once per month and 8% viewed pornography greater than once per week. Among females 50-68 years old, 5% viewed pornography once per month and 0% viewed pornography greater than once per week. Interestingly, it was found out by scholars that demographic data is similar among younger age groups.  

Specifically, A 2008 article in The Journal Of Adolescent Research revealed that 67% of young men and 49% of young women found pornography acceptable.

Gravely, Pornography exposure for children and adolescents has become almost ubiquitous. This was the conclusion of these researchers we are consulting.

In a 2010 survey of English students between 14 to 16 years old, almost one third claimed that their first exposure to Internet pornography was at 10 years old or younger. In a 2011 survey, 31% of adolescent boys admitted visiting web sites that were intended as Adult Only.

The case of the USA is frightening. A large survey of American young people revealed that 51% of males and 32% of females claimed to have viewed pornography for the first time before they were 13 years old, so says researchers.

In a 2012 Australian study of pornography use, men who were frequent pornography users said that their first exposure was between the ages of 11 to 13 years old.

Observers say similar findings as aforementioned were recorded in a 2009 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health which found that 85% of adolescent males and 50% of adolescent females had been exposed to pornographic material. They then gave their verdict thus: “Clearly, pornography has become pervasive throughout modern American society. 

Research, however, is only beginning to delineate its impact upon children, adolescents, and adults”.Source:https://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/the-impact-of-pornography-on-children
https://www.addictioncenter.com/college/facts-statistics-college-drug-abuse/
Concluded .

• Onwubiko, head, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria

0 Comments