Media Influences on Addictive Behaviour

MEDIA AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR

• Research into Film Representation of Addiction
• Sulkunen (2007)
• 140 scenes from 47 films collected which represented various addictions. Films about drug users, presenting scenes of drug competence and enjoyment of the effects. Enjoyment was frequently contrasted with the dullness of orfianry life. 
• competent use of drugs also represented as a way of alleviating a particular problem
• In human Traffic, the use of ecstacy is portrayed as a way of resolving relationship problems
• Representation of Smoking in Film
• Media representation of smoking does influence teenagers to take up the habit.
• 360 of the top US box office films released between 2001 and 2005 with those who depicted smoking found teenagers were more likely to start smoking themselves, even after controlling for social factors.
• significant relationship between adolescent smoking and the number of films they had seen depicting msoking
• Television Support for Problem Drinking
• television series called 'psst... the really useful guide to alcohol' was evaluated. Viewers were compared with matched controls who did not watch the series, the results showed an improvement in alcohol related knowledge, did not show any change in attitude or in alcohol consumption.
• 'drinking less? do it yourself!' television self help intervention designed to reduce problem drinking found the intervention group was more succesfful than a control group in achieving low risk. this different was maintained at a three…