A Relation to Sociology

Nate from Gossip Girl with A LOT of weed.

So before I go completly into psychology, I just noticed a connection between our previous unit and our current one.

The connection? It's between agents of socialization and high society teens.



Due to agents of socialization, leading psychietrists believe that they negatively influence a person to turn to drugs.



Gossip Girl is a TV show about high society teens. They also

do lots of drugs, have lots of sex, and deal with many issues.

Here, the blonde (Serena) is on ecstacy while the male (Chuck)

is high from marijuana.



Growing up in an affluent society can cause a child to have anxiety, depression, and those feelings lead them to drug abuse.

What agents of socialization cause this? The family. Obviously. In a wealthy society children usually grow up in isolation from their parents' their usually agt work or on vacation. They also feel immense pressure from them to do well and be there successors; if their parents own a company, that child will have no other choice in the future but to inherit it.

So what drugs do teens from high society turn most to? In the beginning, it's marijuana and ecstacy. But then as time progesses, it turns into cocaine and in some cases, heroine.

Work Cited:

Luthar, Suniya S., and Shawn J. Latendresse. "Children of the Affluent ." Current Directions in Psychological Science . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. <http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/14/1/49.short

Greetings :D

Well HELLO AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So there's only a few days left until my presentation... yaaaaaay....
But it's a good thing I'm on my last unit huh!!!!!!!

So to begin, I just want to give you a brief introduction on what Marijuana does to the Brain. Or rather, how your brain gets affected when you're smoking marijuana.
(if you haven't realized, our next topic is on psychology)

Because I'm too lazy to write on all the neurosystems and what not, i went on youtube and found a video from asapSCIENCE. Please enjoy <3

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeF6rFN9org

Why The Hell Do These Things Matter(part 2) ??!!

Well HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO my pretties!!!!

Yes, it's that time again. The time where we finish another unit. This by far is the biggest unit of all! Why? Because weed is a social drug. You aren't gonna cut yourself a line of cocaine or shoot up some heroine during lunch, right?! Well, I hope not anyways. But my point is, that Marijuana has become so, common in our society that we hear it and think "oh, true". It's no big deal. Everyone does it. It's natural.

BULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Weed is a drug. Drugs aren't natural; I don't care where it grows from; it's still a drug, it still impairs you, and it can still kill you. No, not from overdosing; but from many other things. Like i mentioned in one of my posts, teens are stupid. They're smart enough not to drink and drive, and the rates for drunk driving have significantly decreased over the past years. However the rates for Drug driving have just been shooting up! Kids think it'll be okay to drive after having 1 or 2 joints. It's not. It's still impaired driving, and it's a huge reason why teens are getting into so many accidents and why so many people have Marijuana in their system when they die from motor-vehicle accidents. Also, weed has a clear negative impact on grades. The study i found proved that children with the worst grade are the ones who are usually out skipping class and smoking marijuana. That's so bad for them; I mean honestly, you're throwing away your future for a joint. I get they don't like school; no one really likes school. But we have to put up with it for our future. We know that getting good grades requires you to at least try, so why do people just have the mentality that it doesn't matter? It does matter. You come to class high, there's no chance of you learning anything. You skip class to get high, no chance of learning anything. We need a good future; it's as simple as that. So why throw it away over something as simple as a joint?

Peer pressure. That's why. No one's going to skip class to get high on their own (at least, I'm pretty sure). If anything they'll wait till after when they see their friends. Like I said so many times before, weed is the social drug; you do it when you're with people, not when you're alone. I mean sure, if you're home alone and bored out of your mind and you have a blunt sitting right there, you'd probably smoke it. But during school? Naw man. You'd need a friend with you. It's fun. It's better than being in a boring class. Right?

Wrong. So, so wrong, it's not even close to right.

That's why having friends who are bad influences can be seriously dangerous! Not only our opinions, but the way we dress and think and act and feel and behave are all similar to our friends in our primary social group. That's why people need to be able to reason, to take responsibility and say to themselves, "do i really want to fail school and go smoke weed?". You can have all the friends in the world, but still be able to make decisions for yourself and not base it on something your social group does. That's why I believe that out of all the agents of socialization, peers are responsible for you and whether or not you start doing drugs. If your primary social group has no interest in drugs or anything like that, then honestly, you shouldn't either. Because groups like that have other interests; boys, school, celebrities; whatever it is, your primary social group influences you to no end. It's your decision whether they're good influences or not.

Popular Weed Artists

My last post was about how the use of weed in songs can be a very dangerous thing, especially if listened to way to often. However, I never really talked about which artists or what songs are popular to our teens.  Unfortunately this isn't really my style of music, so I'm not as knowledgeable in this as I would be in say, songs from Disney princess movies. Ask me anything on those. I dare you. But either way, here we go! (please don't shoot me if I left out one of your favourites!!!)

I am only mentioning 3 artists who i've found to be some of the biggest names in the industry (of course there are many more, probably ones better than these. But please, spare me some <3 ).

Bob Marley

Of course, I HAD to start with him. If you can think back to one of my earlier posts, I wrote a little something something on Rastafarian's. Well, say hello to one! Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. His music was NOT rap, but reggae instead :D Some songs of his that reference weed? Hmm... Well, let's see!

African Herbsman

Kaya

Ganja Gun

Rebel Music (Weed)
Burnin and Lootin
I Shot the Sherrif
3 Little Birds
All in One

Lil Wayne

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born in 1982, and he first entered the music world at 9 years old! He's had 9 rap albums, and surpassed Elvis Presley as the male  with the most entries on the Billboard 100 chart with 109 songs. Some of his songs that include Marijuana are...

Kush

Pussy Money Weed

Wasted

Cali Dro (Like Father, Like Son)
Blunt Blowin
Right Above It
La La La

Wiz Khalifa

Cameron Jibril Thomaz i an American rapper who came into the music scene in 2006. He has had 3 albums, and has brought us hits such as Black and Yellow.

Heart and Soul
Still Blazing
In the Cut
Thrown
Gone
Young Wild & Free
Up

Let's Listen to that Weed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHW5Vz0HgRE

REMEMBER THIS??? It's from one of my very first posts :D
But basically, all I'm trying to say here is that this is what my next post is gonna be. Weed in Music :D

Did you know that the average teen listens to 3.5-4 hours of music everyday? From the radio, Ipods, phones, TV's, and especially Youtube, music is one of the most fundamental part of a teens' life. We listen to it when we study, read, do homework, even when we're in a boring class. Some people (like myself) listen to music to help them sleep, and when I wake up in the morning. It's a daily routine, and there really isn't anything wrong with that. Some songs though can be quite dangerous; Because music is such a big part of our lives, we've become influenced by it. Violent, abusive music is one form of dangerous music in our society. Music that talks about rape, suicide, and drug use are just other forms of it. Because my topic is on weed, it's only fair for me to mention the dangerous affects that come with listening to this risky form of music.

We've all heard it; those songs on the radio that talk about the magic plant. The most common drug in music for like, ever? Weed. Marijuana has been in songs for so long now, that there really hasn't been an increase or decrease; it's just always been. There are so many songs about weed, that no one's been able to count them all! However, there are many playlists on Youtube that helped me out a bit. The following are 2 sets of playlists that both contain songs about weed; the stoner songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzHDoHbPFy4&playnext=1&list=PLD995E8902110C336&feature=results_main

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbPy8S_ioCk&list=PL0D3384628A1496E7

 Weed is most prevalent in rap music, however it's also in reggae music, jazz music, and heavy metal. Of course that's not all the genres, but definitely the most common. These days, especially in rap, music seems to be about the same old thing; money sex and drugs. What do kids seem to be in to these days? Money, sex, and drugs. Hmmm. I wonder why that could be. It's been proven that when kids listen to so much music that involve drugs and sexual activities, it's highly likely that it's contributing to a child's drug usage and sexual activity. Basically, the more risky music a child listens to, the more likely they are to take part in those risky activities. Teens who listen to more music that involve marijuana are more likely smoke it, and escalate to a higher usage of the drug. That is, compared to teens who hardly listen to music involving weed. 

However, there's something positive about all this. Elementary school kids (kids not in high school) don't really focus on music all too much. Up until grade 6, for a lot of kids TV is what it's all about. Yes, music is still a huge part of their daily lives and they still can't live without it, but not as much as TV seems to be. The only reason i said this was a pro because that means our little kids aren't doing drugs or having sex. Yet. Who knows what this world will come to -.- Especially since when we're so young, we're impressionable little things. If we listen to music about sex and drugs and gettin' that pussy is what it's all about, then obviously our kids will grow up thinking that and wanting to try it. Why? Because they're impressionable. I don't care how many times I have to say that in my blog. Kids. Are. Impressionable.

Works Cited:

Martino, Steven C., Rebecca L. Collins, David E. Kanouse, Amy Strachman, Marc N. Elliott, and Sandra H. Berry. "Exposure to Degrading Versus Nondegrading Music Lyrics and Sexual Behavior Among Youth." Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics 118 (2006): n. pag. PEDIATRICS. Web. 11 Jan. 2013.

Gentile, Douglas A.. "The Effects of Violent Music on Children and Adolescents." Media violence and children: a complete guide for parents and professionals. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. 155-163. Print.

Marijuana In The Movies

To put it blankly, Stoner films. There's a whole section on it on Netflix. Go check it out.

Pinapple Express

Marijuana in movies is a very tricky topic to talk about. On the one hand, they're amazingly funny. They make you laugh and not care about things; they're kind of just like, chill movies. On the other hand, it promotes illicit drug use; another big no no. Now I can enjoy a good stoner movie; I'm sure any one of us can. Getting high, doing crazy shit, having fun, and making it the time of your life. Sounds like a good time, right?

But that's the problem with these movies; instead of showing the negatives of drugs, they're promoting it. Marijuana is the most used drug in any movie, and usually the people who take these drugs in the movie don't suffer any harmful consequences. But people aren't going to stop making these movies; why? Money. Everything always goes back to money. These movies are hilarious! Why in the world would they stop making them just because it has a drug in it? "That's why it's rated R" they say. "That's why we put up warnings" they say. But honestly, no one gives a shit about those things but our parents. Children always watch rated R or 14A or PG 13 movies before they're at proper age. Because breaking the rules is cool. Because watching something meant for older, cooler kids is cool. It's not, and going down that path seriously messes a child up.



Harold and Kumar Movies

For a child, being exposed early to Rated R or PG 13 or 14A movies can have serious effects on the way a child grows up. In fact, early exposure to movies with marijuana in it is a major factor of why kids grow up and smoke weed. Watching stoner movies when you're young makes you 6 times more likely to smoke weed when you're older. When they're younger and see movies for older kids, they think it's cool, and as soon as they can they try to get their hands on whatever they think to be cool. This is why the struggle with Stoner movies is so severe.

Works Cited:

Communications and Media, The Council on. "Children, Adolescents, Substance Abuse, and the Media." Pediatrics Official journal of the american academy of pediatrics 126 (2010): n. pag. PEDIATRICS. Web. 11 Jan. 2013.

Weed and Celebrities



HONEY BOO BOO CHILDDDDD!

Celebrities usually are our guidelines to what is cool and popular. They show us the latest fashion trends, INSPIRE the latest trends (YOLO anyone?), and they communicate all that through mass communication. Nowadays with Twitter and Instagram and Youtube and all this fun Internet stuff, people just like you and me who aren't in movies or sex tapes or making music can be famous too! But even though those people are technically famous, to me they aren't celebrities. Celebrities (to me) are people in music or movies or even sex tapes who are constantly talked about on mass communication; radio, TV, the Internet, so on and so forth. These are the people we see and hear about the most; these are the people we talk about, critisize, and honestly, just love. Even if all they're doing is acting stupid (Jersey Shore and Honey Boo Boo) people love to watch them. Why? Because our lives are boring and we need to be entertained. And some people live by them religiously! I know my brother is a total Jersey Shore reject. He spent hours watching that show, and now he does everything they do. Why? Because it's awesome and cool. If my brother thinks like this, imagine all the other impressionable 14 year olds who think the exact thing. Celebrities are looked to as role models; what they do and what they say can completely change the lives of their fans, whether they like it or not. That's what happens when you become a celebrity; people look up to you.

But what happens when our beloved celebs smoke marijuana? Well, why don't you ask all those #cutforbieber followers? A site called 4chan started this campaign as a terrible joke, but girls actually did it. Why? Because the media influenced them to do it. This issue has hand so many people talking; all our favourite Youtube people have been talking about it, too. How it's so completely ridiculous, how it's stupid, and how serious this issue is. One of my favourite youtubers, Michael Buckley, made a video on this topic. He talks about how serious this issue is, how the media is making our generation crazy, and how cutting is not the answer. You don't have to watch the video. I would recommend it, buuuuuut you don't have to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whgfzSJ0PqY

The point of this post is that, whether Celebrities like it or not, they're our role models. We centre our whole lives around these people; what they do and what they where and if they're doing it we should to. I remember when i was a tween i was very obsessed with the media and everything celebrities; I knew everything about everyone cool. So imagine, if that was me oh so many years ago, what about the new generation? They'd be just the same. The generation who cuts themselves over Bieber smoking weed because a hashtag told them to. Is that what our world is really coming to?



Good Celebrity Role Model

 


 

Bad Celebrity Role Model