The Drinking Age Of The United States

M-rated video games, which are not recommended for children younger than 17-years-old, are frequently advertised in movie theaters, video game magazines, and publications with high youth readership. Young people see 45% more beer ads and 27% more ads for hard liquor in teen magazines than adults to in their magazines. An increasing number of web sites try to get teens to make direct sales. More than 100 commercial websites promote alcohol products. Most advertisers use techniques that children and teens are more vulnerable to, like product placement in movies and TV shows, action figures, kid’s clubs, and celebrity endorsements. Sex is used in commercials to sell almost anything now. American ads constantly use thin female models, which contribute to the development of self-esteem issues in young girls.

The legal drinking age in the United States is 21, while in other countries the legal age ranges from 16-18. The argument in the United States is “Should the United States lower its drinking age?” There are many sides to this argument but research has given many good points to back up both sides of the question. First thing is the difference between a teen’s brain with alcohol and an adult’s brain with alcohol. Another thing is drinking at a younger age can help teach culture. Lastly the more alcohol exposed the increase in death rate. I believe that it is a good idea to keep the legal drinking age at age 21 because in our past we have had many problems with death increases due to the drinking age being at different ages and the research used uses pathos, logos, ethos and Kairos to help persuade the reader support that 21 should stay the legal drinking age.

Is the media’s portrayal of adolescent drinking accurate? Yes, it is. To many individuals, Alcohol is only a drink, but it is a lot more than that, it's an addictive drug. 60% of young adults have tried alcohol earlier than the age of 14, and the numbers of under aged drinkers is rising. Adolescents begin drinking for a lot of reasons - given that they are bored, due to peer pressure, and quite simply because there is nothing else to do. The national Drug research Institute observed females aged 14 to 17 have been worse abusers of alcohol than 18 to 24-year old guys. In other records, it suggests that eighty percent of under 18-year-olds drink, 50 percentage binge drink. Also around 10 percent of 12 year olds drink.

Throughout the world, the age when a child becomes an adult is at the age 18. Most people gain the right to vote, start to work for themselves, drive in certain countries. All of this being said, an additional privilege is the ability for one to be able to legally drink. The United States is one of the only countries who´s legal drinking age is separate from the declared age of an official adult under the law. The idea of putting restrictions on a “legal” adult, makes the issue more complicated for that their are still restrictions that make an adult like a child. The legal drinking age in the United States should be lowered to the age of 18 because it will not only give the full right of passage into adulthood, but it is important to keep on par with our international community in terms of underlying laws to each government and their respective cultures.

The question, "Is alcohol advertising the cause of underage drinking?" seems to flow through the minds of many American families. The answer to the question largely depends upon the families view on drinking in general. Some homes encourage drinking every once in a while, for social purposes; while others condemn it all together. The topic is very controversial with several factors weighing in such as religion, family background, and health. Despite the differing views, statistics have shown that underage drinking has reached a new height this past year. What is the cause of this rise in adolescent

Remember being sixteen and the only thing we could possibly do with the rest of our lives was wait to turn eighteen? On our eighteenth birthday we found a renewed sense of the word maturity as we were now able to walk into gas stations or grocery stores to buy lottery tickets or a pack of cigarettes. At this point in our lives we were able to attain a full driver 's license, no more permit or be in by 9 rules! But, there is still that "Under 21" label above or right next to your name, even though you gain a lot of responsibilities and rights at 18, your driver 's license is an indication and reminder to how “youthful” you still are. By age eighteen we are able to enlist (Enlisting) and die for our country. Everyone knows how heroic that is, however, “at eighteen years old you have nearly every burden and privilege as adults...except the right to drink alcohol” (Lynn)

The drinking age in America has been a hot-blooded debate of whether it should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen, or if should remain twenty-one. In recent years’ many American citizens have argued that twenty-one being the legal age to consume alcohol is a useless tactic to stop underage drinking. That the current age has driven more teens to drink recklessly and behind closed doors. But are teens mature enough to learn to drink properly prior to twenty-one? Although some teens still drink regardless of the law, with a higher drinking age young adults can learn to drink responsibly and reduce harm to themselves and others.

Children tend to absorb the contents with a sense of judgment. This is because their curiosity sometimes leads to terrible consequences, in this case, the addiction to alcohol. “A national study … concluded that greater exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in drinking among underage youth. Specifically, for each additional ad a young person saw … he or she drank 1% more. For each additional dollar per capita spent on alcohol advertising in a local market … young people drank 3% more” (Alcohol Advertising and Youth). Therefore, the commercials do have a great impact to the number of drinking adolescents, since the number of underage alcohol consumption rises as advertisement rates rise. If such commercials continue to display on the media without any types of appropriate-content filters, the number of teenage alcoholics will continue to rise as years pass by. As a result, we must greatly reduce the number of commercials referring to alcohol products, to minimize the possibility to create future drinkers under the legal age.

The legal drinking age in the United States is 21, while in other countries the legal age ranges from 16-18. The argument in the United States is, “Should the United States lower its drinking age?” There are many sides to this argument but research has given many good points to back up both sides of the question. First issue is the difference between a teen’s brain with alcohol and an adult’s brain with alcohol. Another concern is that drinking at a younger age can help teach culture. Lastly, the more alcohol that people are exposed to, there is an increase in death rate. I believe that it is a good idea to keep the legal drinking age at age 21 because in our past we have had many problems with increased deaths due to the drinking age being at different ages. My research used uses pathos, logos, ethos and kairos to help persuade the reader that 21 should stay the legal drinking age.

In today 's society, the most popular for adolescents’ drinks are alcohol or beers. The article states: “Further, few studies have focused on adolescents and alcohol advertisements where there is a great deal of sexuality and nudity. Alcohol is the most frequently advertise beverage in televised sports”

The use of alcohol is an overpowering issue of our society. It is used in religious ceremonies, during socialization, and its presence is seen everywhere. Alcohol comes in many forms such as beer, wine, and hard liquor. Its use has been praised, denounced, accepted, and outlawed in the last century alone. Many admit that it is a problem, and how widespread and dangerous it is, but no one really wants to address the issue of alcohol and the media. The root of the underage drinking problem is the media, with its television shows, advertisements, and overall irresponsibility in portraying drinking as glamorous. The increase in underage drinking is a direct result of the media's influence on young people today.

Unfortunately, alcohol advertising remains a more significant alcohol educator than parents or the school system. Alcohol is the only drug for which knowledge about it as a drug decreases, rather than increases with age. Even fewer 14-year-olds identified beer, wine, or liquor as a drug than did their 10-year-old counterparts, and the percentage of children who thought daily use of alcohol was harmful decreased 29 percent from the younger group. Nearly a quarter of the 208,909 TV commercials about alcohol in 2001 were more likely to be seen by teens than adults. The same study revealed that teens see more ads for liquor than they do for jeans, acne aids and athletic shoes. The ads appeared during 13 to 15 of the most popular teen shows including WB's Seventh Heaven and Gilmore Girls. The average young person saw 245 alcohol ads in 2001.

Exposure to alcohol advertising is an everyday occurrence. Alcohol advertising is persuasive not only to adults but to those who are too young to buy alcohol legally. Although parents and peers have a large impact on youth decisions to drink, marketing also has a significant impact by influencing the attitudes of parents and peers and helping to create an environment that promotes underage drinking. Alcohol companies focus billions of dollars on advertising their products and still claim that the effect is minimal. I pose a few questions that are; who are the targets of alcohol advertising? How does alcohol advertising affect the people targeted by alcohol companies? Finally what actions are being taken to

     Teenagers and young adults are constantly bombarded with alcohol. From the funny beer commercials with the beautiful women who drink and from

As stated by NIAAA, UNDERAGE DRINKING: A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE, The younger you are when you start drinking, the greater your