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Psychologist suggests how to talk about drugs and social networks with teenagers

2021-04-20T02:31:13.645Z


Psychologist John Duffy suggests avoiding the rhetoric of drug dealers and predators now that young people buy drugs on social media.


Children implicated on both sides of drug dealing on social media do not conform to stereotypes that parents may have, says psychologist John Duffy.

Editor's Note:

Psychologist John Duffy, author of "Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety," has his practice in Chicago.

He specializes in working with teens, parents, couples, and families.

(CNN) -

While street drug dealers who incite children to use have not disappeared, my teenage clients tell me that social media is increasingly an almost invisible way that traffickers reach young people.

This phenomenon can have tragic consequences.

Some kids overdose on these drugs, sometimes adulterated with potentially deadly substances.

This was the case in the devastating death of the son of relationship therapist and television host Laura Berman, who allegedly bought Xanax with fentanyl on Snapchat.

Snapchat spokeswoman Rachel Racusen gave the company's deepest condolences to the family in an emailed statement to CNN after the February tragedy.

“We are committed to working together with law enforcement authorities in this case and in all cases where Snapchat is used for illegal purposes.

We have zero tolerance for using Snapchat to buy or sell illegal drugs, "Racusen said.

Using Snapchat for illegal purposes is against the company's community guidelines and "we enforce the rules against these violations," he added.

“We are constantly improving our technological capabilities to detect drug-related activities, so that we can intervene proactively.

If you witness illegal behavior on Snapchat, please use our

in-app

tools

to report quickly and confidentially so that we can take action, ”said Racusen.

"We have no higher priority than keeping Snapchat safe and we will continue to invest in protecting our community."

In the past few months, I have heard many alarmed families wondering how they can best protect their teens and tweens from social media predators and the use and abuse of illicit drugs.

This is my advice.

Understand the nature of the deal

I have spoken with two dozen teens, including three who call themselves distributors, about drug trafficking through social media.

Traffickers often sell to their friends and friends of their friends.

They have told me that a wide circle can be vulnerable, so they keep their customer base small, narrow and well-known.

They don't want to get in trouble, and they don't want their customers to get into trouble, either.

That is why they are reluctant to sell to strangers.

The boys involved on both sides of the deal, by the way, do not conform to the stereotypes that parents may have about the drug dealers and users of our adolescence.

Nowadays, they tell me over and over again, it could be any boy, in any school, anywhere.

According to what my young clients tell me, the competitive high school boy who gets good grades is as likely to consume or traffic as the one who skips class who lives drugged in the basement.

In my sessions with teenagers, I have heard more than a dozen times that drug dealers do not need to prey on innocent children to sell their products, be it loose marijuana, cartridges or concentrated tetrahydrocannabinol "carts" or

THC for vaping, psychedelics, Adderall, Xanax or any other pill.

Your customers are very willing.

How to talk to your children

It's easy to start with what parents shouldn't do: Don't target social media drug dealers as predators.

That can backfire.

It's an easy way to lose credibility with your kids, my teenage clients tell me, who will quickly recognize how uninformed you are about how retail really works.

  • Learn about the new strategy used in Colombia to sell drugs to students

They are buying from their friends, people they often trust, so you have to help them resist that temptation.

How do we do it?

First, parents must create a culture at home that allows them to discuss drug use with their children at any time.

It is important to inform them, but also to be informed by them, about the drug culture that surrounds them.

Building that culture of trust should start long before we talk about drug use and abuse.

You should encourage open and curious conversation with your children on a variety of topics, not just about drugs.

Talk to your children about their music and listen to it with them.

Watch a show with them.

Play a video game with them.

Ask them to show you how their social media accounts work.

Ask for their impressions and offer yours.

You can even share your own experiences of drug use as a teenager.

Just make sure you are genuine and sincere.

Today's teens and tweens have a great sense of authenticity.

Foster a friendly atmosphere of collaboration and open communication in your home, which will take you out of the police role and create an environment that suggests that you are in this together.

However, if you become the "house cop," the environment will be much more hostile for your children.

They will see you less as an ally and more as an obstacle.

This is a difficult position for parents to abandon in front of their children.

Once that tone of confidence has been established, you will find that you have influence and credibility with your child, and they are much more likely to pay attention to your words.

  • How to talk about drugs and alcohol with children and young people of all ages?

Now, if you feel like you're already into the drug addiction issue with your child, I suggest a readjustment conversation with him or her.

Let him know that you are aware of the problem, and set basic safety rules, of course.

Mind you, set a tone for collaboration and problem solving with them to mitigate the problem.

They are a team.

As a parent, you will have to work to calm your own anxieties and avoid a strictly antagonistic position, which can backfire.

That's when it comes to talking about the dangers that drugs can present, and the unreliability and potential threat of any drug you buy, whether it's from a social media menu or otherwise.

Young people have a false sense of security when they buy from someone they know.

In recent years I have worked with too many minors who have not taken into account the dangers of using illegal drugs and buying them online, especially if it is a friend they have bought from in the past.

Therefore, parents should highlight the fact that a bad decision in this area may be far from harmless.

It can change life and, in some tragic cases, end it.

Even the salesperson your child knows and trusts doesn't always know exactly what he's selling.

They can inadvertently pass a dangerous, adulterated or lethal product.

They are not conversations that we can put aside with our children.

But if we don't set the right tone, we may not be able to reach them at all.

Since their health and safety are in danger, we cannot afford not to talk to them.

Social media Drug trafficking

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-04-20

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