Most teenagers are curious about the adult world and most would try to imitate adults' behavior. They would also like to be seen as an adult and cool with their friends. So most would be social drinkers in their baby steps to being binge drinkers.
Ever remember when you were young and your friends were like boasting about the parties they've attended and the alcoholic drinks they've consumed? Or when you see your relatives and siblings drink cocktails during festival seasons like Christmas?
During these occasions, I'm sure you would want to join the party and behave the same as the rest. Even if you don't like the cocktail you are sipping, you conform by drinking and seem like to you are "enjoying" your drink. As your first drink goes by and the second and third went by too, you would be "used" to the taste and start to like the taste even.
Even though there were many reports about alcohol slowing the growth of intelligence, many teenagers doesn't really care about it too.
There was a recent report from BCC News that Binge drinking cause significant damages to teenager's memories ( for full story, please visit website : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7328863.stm ).
The news reported that a team from Northumbria and Keele universities compared 26 binge drinkers with 34 non-bingers in memory tests, and found the drinkers fared worse. In the study, the scientists looked at students aged 17 to 19 - a period when the brain is still developing. The males drank 8 units per session and the females drank 6 per sessions. All were testes on their memories after about 3-4 days.
They were shown a video clip of a shopping trip after being given a couple of minutes to memorise a set of tasks prompted by various cues in the film, such as remembering to text a friend at a certain shop, or to check their bank accounts after seeing a person sitting on a bench. The binge drinkers recalled a third of the items than the non-binge drinkers.
Teenagers may be affected more by memory lost in long term when their brain, especially the pre-frontal lobe , are still developing.
So it would be best to encourage teenagers not to start drinking too early by being examples to them. Role models play a very important part in influencing them on avoiding alcohol too. Show them they can be cool too without a drink and educate them on how to refuse the influence of peer pressure on drinking (normative social influence). Teach them the benefits and harms of alcohol( informative social influence ) so that they can have a better excuse to peers when rejecting their first cocktail. Try not to force them to accept your points in the beginning as teenagers are rebellious at their age as they want to identify with their peers but treat them as an adult and they will listen to you.
Reference :
BBC News, 3 April 2008 ,
Binge drinking 'damages memory'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7328863.stm
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Advertisements
Was reading our textbook on hard sell and soft sell ( Chapter 7, page 271 - 276 ) under Heuristic Persuasion. Short definiton on hard sell means an advertising strategy that relies on presenting information about the positive features of a product and soft sell is an advertising strategy that relies on the use of images, emotions, symbols, or values to promote a product.
And my mind came to our television commercials, how their advertisement came to influence us the type of brand of toothbrush we use ( even though there's really no difference in the brands but you use the latest brand due to the television advertisement ) and the brand of digital camera which you may wish to purchase later.
The recent television commercial for Oral-B has been pushing their latest toothbrush which costs $39.90 and they kept stressing how good it was that it cleans your teeth better, with these beautiful people in white lab coats which I take to represent dentists, hard selling us a product under $40. Though the people in the commercial might not be dentists, however, people are still influence to purchase this new toothbrush because the commercial seems "professional" as it is recommended by " dentists" whom we saw on the screen. People would purchase it because it seem rather credible when they shouw the slides of how this new toothbrush will be able to clean all round your tooth.
But seriously, what is wrong with the older version of toothbrush or other brands of toothbrush? They still clean our teeth perfectly well and they are so much cheaper. There are also other brands which are battery operated and the old Oral-B rotating toothbrush was also battery operated. Its selling point was also that it can clean better and the product first came in about 10 years ago. At that time, it was the latest trend for almost everyone of my friend to owe one. It was also priced around $40.
Have you seen the Canon digital commercial on this guy taking photos of his girlfriend who later became his wife and started a family? That is soft selling advertisement.
It makes one want to buy that particular brand of digital camera to obtain what the guy in the commercial had. A girlfriend, a wife and a family. Also because of the numerous times it played, for first time buyers of digital camera, they would also buy this brand as they are familiar with the brand and the representative heuristic it presents.
But does only Canon digital camera brings about all those good feelings? Can Canon bring you a beautiful girlfriend or a wife and can it help you start a family because it helps you to take beautiful photographs?
It is always good to source around and compare if the product is the only brand that can help or provide our needs rather than belief in what we see. Not all expensive product or products with beautiful models means that it is a good product not when a commercial shows "professional" speakers like doctors or research means that it is credible.
And my mind came to our television commercials, how their advertisement came to influence us the type of brand of toothbrush we use ( even though there's really no difference in the brands but you use the latest brand due to the television advertisement ) and the brand of digital camera which you may wish to purchase later.
The recent television commercial for Oral-B has been pushing their latest toothbrush which costs $39.90 and they kept stressing how good it was that it cleans your teeth better, with these beautiful people in white lab coats which I take to represent dentists, hard selling us a product under $40. Though the people in the commercial might not be dentists, however, people are still influence to purchase this new toothbrush because the commercial seems "professional" as it is recommended by " dentists" whom we saw on the screen. People would purchase it because it seem rather credible when they shouw the slides of how this new toothbrush will be able to clean all round your tooth.
But seriously, what is wrong with the older version of toothbrush or other brands of toothbrush? They still clean our teeth perfectly well and they are so much cheaper. There are also other brands which are battery operated and the old Oral-B rotating toothbrush was also battery operated. Its selling point was also that it can clean better and the product first came in about 10 years ago. At that time, it was the latest trend for almost everyone of my friend to owe one. It was also priced around $40.
Have you seen the Canon digital commercial on this guy taking photos of his girlfriend who later became his wife and started a family? That is soft selling advertisement.
It makes one want to buy that particular brand of digital camera to obtain what the guy in the commercial had. A girlfriend, a wife and a family. Also because of the numerous times it played, for first time buyers of digital camera, they would also buy this brand as they are familiar with the brand and the representative heuristic it presents.
But does only Canon digital camera brings about all those good feelings? Can Canon bring you a beautiful girlfriend or a wife and can it help you start a family because it helps you to take beautiful photographs?
It is always good to source around and compare if the product is the only brand that can help or provide our needs rather than belief in what we see. Not all expensive product or products with beautiful models means that it is a good product not when a commercial shows "professional" speakers like doctors or research means that it is credible.
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