Agenda setting theory

Running Head: DRUGS: NEVER USE, DON’T ABUSE 1
DRUGS: NEVER USE, DON’T ABUSE
By: Amelia Chandler, Cory Veal, Corey McFadden, & Jasmin Santiago
Modern Media and Culture
Fall 2013
Columbus State University

Drugs:
Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

2

Introduction
In a culture where alcohol and drug substances are seen as an exotic and illuminating
feature with social gatherings it’s no wonder the amount of pressure there is to obtain that type of
lifestyle. We live in a society where celebrities, or other forms of role models are exploited and
receive the limelight for such negative antics for example, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes, etc.
This type of expectation to reality is skewed and disoriented yet these are the images that media
are so focused on producing to the public eye.
Teenagers among the high school years are in a constant battle with their self esteem,
rights and popularity and it’s no wonder the reason they only see a way out is through the use of
substance abuse. The ability to not have control for one individual sounds so easy especially if
the opportunity to take it is standing in front of them. Yet do they think of the consequences in
the end? The immaturity level, mentally, physically and emotionally for teens is critical during
high school since they are still growing into mature individuals. However substance abuse
impacts teens mentally, physically, and emotionally and many media outlets do not expose the
dangers of drug abuse frequently.
Research shows how teens are the steppingstone for adulthood problems with addiction,
yet there are opportunities and campaigns that allow education to avoid and help these types of
situations. Through our own interest in this dilemma we have created a campaign to end the
struggle with drug and alcohol abuse amongst teens. We strive to use media through different
aspects to illuminate a different side of the story of substance abuse. We focus on messages to
impact and influence teens through different methods of media literacy to prevent negative
measures. And the opportunity to present itself to all high schools in the Muscogee County with
the help of social media networks.

Drugs:
Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

3

Research
Illicit drug and alcohol abuse is something teenagers engage in occasionally and few do
regularly (HHS). Illicit drug use includes the abuse of illegal drugs and/or the misuse of
prescription medications or household substances. According to the Office of Adolescent Health,
by the twelfth grade, half of adolescents have abused an illicit drug at least once. Children are
having substance abuse problems based on ingestion of medications that can be easily purchased
or prescribed (Davidson 2009).
In 2011, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that marijuana
was the leading drug amongst teenagers between the grade levels of 9th
and 10th
. The CDC also
reported that teens have offered, sold or given an illegal drug on school property more than ever
in 2011 in comparison to 2005. Having easy access to alcohol and drugs on a school campus
allows undeveloped adolescents the opportunity to delve into substances they are ill informed
about. It is important that drug and alcohol prevention programs are introduced to youth early on
in community and school programs.
The combined use of marijuana and alcohol abuse at a young age increases the risk of
adult alcohol and drug abuse (Stenbacka M. 2004). Having an awareness of the long-term effects
of drug and alcohol abuse in adolescent years will help with prevention. Drug and alcohol
prevention programs assist in stopping teens from developing substance abuse programs.
According to the Science Daily, researchers at Iowa State University found that the use of
prescription drugs dropped 65% amongst adolescents due to them being involved in community-
based prevention programs.

Drugs:
Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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Not only is it important that teens are introduced to drug prevention and awareness
programs it is also important that parents are involved as well. Parents are encouraged to discuss
the negative effects of drug use with their children. Do Something organization states those teens
whose parents talk to them regularly about the dangers of drugs are 42 percent less likely to use
drugs than those whose parents don't. It was also reported that only a quarter of teens are having
these conversations with their parents.
Communication Theory Research
The agenda-setting theory is the ability of the news media to influence the salience of
topics on the public agenda. One of the important issues, which needs to be broadcasted, is the
use of drugs and alcohol amongst teenagers in high school. The agenda setting theory has the
ability to make these problems known and give students options of how they can stay away from
these substances. It will also give them help on how to encourage other students to quit using
drugs or drinking alcohol. The images that these students could see in the newspaper or on the
television are those of people who have died from the substances or suffered a physical or mental
disability because of these elements.
Truth be told, the use of drugs and alcohol are detrimental to any person using them for
recreational purposes. The consequences of using these substances could possibly lead to death,
which is why there is a need for media to broadcast the importance of abstaining from these
drugs. Most high school students listen to the radio, watch television, and look to social media
for their information about important topics. These students read popular articles that pop up on
Facebook or watch video after video on YouTube. If what students are watching, hearing, and
reading are telling them about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol the majority of teens
would cut down on their use of substances. The media has the power to influence these students

Drugs:
Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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in a way that can change their lives. The media currently has a strong influence on teens. They
encourage them to take a political stand during election times, make their voice heard about gay
rights, and to dress and act however they desire. Students prove that they are influenced by the
media because they are not afraid to voice their opinion and live the way they desire.
Using the agenda-setting theory, the public service announcements (PSA) our group
made will be used in high schools with the hopes that students will take into account the dangers
of drugs. They will hear encouraging words on how to help other students struggling with their
addictions to drugs or alcohol. They will be introduced to the negative effects of binge drinking
and the possible embarrassment that can come alongside alcoholism. They will hear of the
consequences of drinking and driving and how much of an impact one decision has on other
people’s lives. Lastly, they will grasp what a future of abstaining from the use of drugs will offer
them and in comparison they will understand the consequences of what a life filled with
substance abuse give them.
The agenda setting theory also filters and shapes reality. This gives the media the power
to take any situation and make it into something completely different. The media currently uses
alcohol in television commercials in order to make alcohol seem desirable. In commercials, there
is always an attractive male and/or female holding the alcohol in his or her hand. They can be at
a party, bar, or just out together drinking and seem to be having a great time. The influence and
message that is received from these commercials is that alcohol simply makes everything
enjoyable and allows a person to just be themselves. However, the side effects of what happens
after a person drinks too much are not included in these images. The vomiting from drinking too
much, wrecking one’s car, and the hangover the next morning is not seen in commercials
because these scenarios have been shaped and filtered by the media. The good, fun, and positive

Drugs:
Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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aspects of these situations have been taken out and broadcasted in the mass media, but the
sickness, death, and side effects are nowhere to be seen. With the agenda setting theory, our
campaign has the potential to reach many high school students. We plan to encourage them with
PSA’s, television commercials, Facebook articles, and YouTube videos about not drinking or
doing drugs and why partaking in these drugs for recreational use is never a good thing.
Media Literacy Research
The use of media has really impacted the influence for our society and their opinions on
certain topics. Topics such as drug and alcohol abuse are related in messages through
advertisements and educational sources of media that have been grasped and put out into the
public. Different types of media used today involve print, television, radio, and the Internet.
Through the use of media the popularity on this issue of drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers
has increased immensely.
Campaigns similar to the D.A.R.E program that targets substance abuse in American
teenagers has spread nationwide from what started off only in Los, Angles. This impact of
educational media has impacted students since it has become part of 75 percent of schools in the
United States alone. Media usage through the form of face-to-face interaction is one of the first
and foremost important methods to fully impact one’s perceptive on such critical issues like this
in our society. Since 1983, 70,000 police officers have taught the D.A.R.E. program to over 200
million K-12 students worldwide – approximately 114 million in the United States alone. The
Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has had both private and federal government funding
to support expansion of media influence by relating law enforcement with the student body. By
educating them on the resistance and pressure of this type of lifestyle as well as the consequences
of the matters from personal stories of those that were once in that dilemma. This created an

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Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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opportunity of relationship building with parents/adults and the child/student (D.A.R.E.
ProCon.org (2013, November 22).
Impacts of media have gone so far to the legislative level when Presidents such as Ronald
Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have all declared
one day each year to be National D.A.R.E. Day (D.A.R.E. ProCon.org (2013, November 22).
The biggest form of public and political use of media has impacted this issue so immensely by
even announcing an actual date for its’ recognition. President Barack Obama in the year 2011
announced that National D.A.R.E. Day would be held April 7 (Presidential Proclamation--
National D.A.R.E. Day).
There has been such an increase in activities with this type of topic as seen through
television and Internet media such as the slogan ‘Above the Influence’. This campaign has taken
over in this generation more so than the D.A.R.E. program. The Drug Abuse Resistance
Education programs popularity mainly rose throughout the 80s-90s while a new wave of
campaigns such as ‘Above the Influence’ has become a more popular form of media impact on
this generation. This campaign uses the form of media more so in commercials on popular
television networks such as MTV and VH1, that is in mainstream contact with the younger
audience. Billboards of their images have launched nation wide and even been seen through
advertisements such as in Seventeen Magazine (Above the Influence News & Events). Another
form of media that this campaign has taken off is through the form of Internet by creating their
own website to directly connect to those at home with computers. The ability of creating such an
easy access of media presentation to the public has impacted society to have the grasp of
knowledge at their fingertips. Their site contains not only tabs that link directly to their form of
media usage, but to gain knowledge in facts, and directly getting help. The ability to use media

Drugs:
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Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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through CMC in such close proximities to the growing technological generation impacts students
to learn and expand decisions as well as to take a stand on issues like this alone.
In our public service announcements, storyboards, and campaign poster we wanted to
have the ability to really relate to the youth and convince and inform them on this type of issue.
Our main goal was to firstly grab their attention in a non-emotional campaign poster that simply
states our slogan ‘Never Use, Don’t Abuse’. We used this type of black and white format on the
poster as visual media advertisement that could be used in any form of print whether it is
newspaper, magazines, or internet social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
We wanted the opportunity to hit hard on the students on how black and white a situation
like drugs and alcohol really is without overly designing it so it wouldn’t take away from the
message we wanted to display. During high school age levels teens have a higher tendency to get
distracted so we wanted it to represent a serious image without overusing design. We also used
this slogan ‘Never Use, Don’t Abuse’ in all of our forms of media as a catchy way to really grasp
the audience. A repetition and rhythmic catch phrase allows the producers to get the consumers
thinking about our campaign and hopefully further research it. Popular songs in this generation
are used to infiltrate our memory and get stuck subconsciously. We intended to use this method
also known as ‘earworms’ through our media content (Stafford, T. (2012, April 12).
In our PSA announcements we plan on sending it out to several methods of media
coverage such as radio and schools to be heard over intercom announcements throughout the
day. The ability to hear these public service announcements in repetition uses allows the
continuation of the method ‘earworm’. Both the public service announcements have a catchy
musical background that captures the student’s attention with a beat. Psychological and
neurological studies have shown how music is driven to really impact one’s subconscious and it

Drugs:
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Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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can get stuck in ones memories for years (Stafford, T. (2012, April 12). By creating two different
musical beats, settings, and emotional storylines allows us the opportunity for several genres of
students to be interested. Our first public service announcement gives the factual information of
student substance abuse and the ability to get a friend like that out of that situation. The other
PSA allows a more emotional story plot of a student thinking to be invincible but their decisions
not only impact themselves but everyone else around them. The reiteration of our slogan and the
affects of this type of behavior through the form of media literacy allows the ability to reach out
to a greater audience that would not be possible through just face to face contact.
Lastly through our messages from our storyboards that we created exemplified the ability
to use media through another visual context whether it is seen through television commercials,
Internet social media such as YouTube, or even projecting these videos through visual
announcements at schools. Both storyboards use the ability of comedy to capture the
entertainment level of teenagers with the concepts that are relatable to them in that phase of their
life. As seen through the first storyboard the public peer pressure they may feel at school or with
their peers about substances and the effects it has to their exams and their future. The other
storyboard relates to after school activities that students may face daily such as the party scene.
By using the comedic methods in making fun of the usual type of Alcohol ads that illuminate
that type of lifestyle and then show the graphic imagery of how wrong it can turn may repulse a
lot of the viewers. Yet this type of imagery is one that can stick in their minds forever and be a
future reference when they do happen to go out to social events and gatherings.
Through our use of media we find the ability to unite all other forms of popular media
literacy campaigns that have focused on this topic prior to. Technology has advanced so quickly
and given the opportunity to expand methods of media allows the impact for these types of issues

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Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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to become obtainable. Through our poster, public service announcements, and storyboards it
gives us the chance to educate and relate to this age group in a relatable and intimate level by
using media.
Campaign Description
In our campaign, we plan to reach out to high school students in ways that are more
convenient for them. Our organization understands not all high school students are interested in
their local news or constant updates on drug and alcohol abuse in their school and community.
We hope to provide them with enough knowledge on the subject at hand.
From an administrative standpoint, we will have our PSA’s played daily over the schools
intercom system during the schools announcements. We will be distributing our campaign
“Never Use, Don’t Abuse” posters, as well as our PSA’s to every high school in the district.
Also, assemblies will be held throughout the different high schools, which will include guest
speakers that will give the students a real life perspective on a high school student who was
previously addicted to drugs and alcohol. Last, we will organize a school Anti-Drug and Alcohol
Use Club for students to get involved in.
Opposed to an administrative view, social media is by far one of the most effect ways to
reach a younger age group such as high school students. We plan to create profiles in the most
popular social apps students use in their day-to-day lives. All accounts will be updated constantly
with useful information on drug and alcohol abuse the can be accessed by the students. We also
will respond back to students in need of answers to their question. We plan to use Twitter so
students will be able to view quick tips on avoiding the use of drugs as well as the affects of
specific drugs in a standard 140-text blog. The second application we are using is Facebook. We

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Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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will be creating drug and alcohol awareness groups, and allowing students to connect with one
another through post. Third would be Instagram, to provide students with drug abuse pictures as
well as helpful hints relating to drug and alcohol abuse. The last application would be Vine
where we would reach out to students with 6sec clips providing information on drug and alcohol
abuse amongst high school students.
Conclusion
The overall assessment of drug and alcohol abuse among teens has been proven to be at
an all time high. It also revealed the impacts that this type of substance abuse has on teenagers
and their future regardless of what path they may take. It concludes on how media depicts this
type of storyline in contradiction to the facts of effects it really has. The method of agenda-
setting theory and its ability of the news media to influence the salience of topics on the public
agenda at hand. With the usage of our campaign PSA’s, poster, and storyboards we formed an
ability to design help for adolescents that may be in that type of lifestyle or know someone else
who is. With the expansion of the social media network and media literacy we provided we’ve
given the tools to decipher these types of situations and prevention. Although some context is
more graphic and emotionally based, it reinstates the agenda setting theory through the hard
consequences. Instead of being a statistic that was seen through our research, we correlate our
slogan “Never Use, Don’t Abuse” to fight that type of limelight and instead lead by example
such as past Presidents have even shown support for.

Drugs:
Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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Works Cited
Above the Influence News & Events. (n.d.). Above the Influence News & Events. Retrieved
November 30, 2013, from http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/news
Alcohol and cannabis may be gateway drugs for teens. (2004). DATA: The Brown University
Digest of Addiction Theory & Application, 23(4), 3-4.
Bb, B., E, B., & S, L. (2013). Teen prescription drug use and abuse update. Brown University
Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter,29(4), 3-4.
Center of Disease Control and Prevention, (2012). Alcohol & other drug use. Atlanta, Georgia:
Center of Disease Control & Prevention.
D.A.R.E. ProCon.org. (2013, November 22). ProConorg Headlines. Retrieved November 30,
2013, from http://dare.procon.org/#Background
Davidson, H. (2009). WHEN IT HAPPENS IN A FAMILY: AIDING PARENTS OF
SUBSTANCE-ABUSING ADOLESCENTS. Family Court Review, 47(2), 253-264.
doi:10.1111/j.1744-1617.2009.01252.x
Iowa State University (2013, April 25). Prevention programs dramatically cut substance abuse
Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2012). Monitoring the
Future, national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2011. Ann
Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan. Retrieved July 17,
2013, from
http://monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/mtf-overview2012.pdf

Drugs:
Never
Use,
Don’t
Abuse

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Presidential Proclamation--National D.A.R.E. Day. (n.d.). The White House. Retrieved
November 30, 2013, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-
office/2011/04/06/presidential-proclamation-national-dare-day
Stafford, T. (2012, April 12). Earworms: Why catchy tunes get trapped in our heads. BBC-
Future-Story. Retrieved November 30, 2013, from
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120411-why-do-songs-stick-in-our-heads
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, (2013).Illicit and nonillicit drug useOffice of
Adolescent Health.

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