When your teenager is sending messages to her friends on MySpace, she may not be sharing the latest high school dating gossip, but rather, telling her friends about her latest drug- or alcohol-related escapades. A new study by Caron Treatment Centers found that 1 in 10 messages posted by teenagers asked for advice on "safe" ways to take illicit drugs without getting caught.

"The study also found that in messages about alcohol, hooking up and having sex when drinking were the top behaviors discussed by teens. While a few teens expressed regret over things they did while drunk, many chalked it up to 'fun', 'being wasted' and 'having a good time.'"

The majority of messages posted by teens were free of this type of content. Of the 10.3 million messages analyzed, 160,000 contained drug, sex or alcohol related content; that's about 1 1/2 percent. But of that 160,000, 80% of the messages discussed alcohol, marijuana, cocaine or acid/LSD.

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Labels: drug_abuse, communication, internet

Posted By: Aspen Education Group