Social Norms, how the media promotes drug use, and Only in Ibiza.

In my earliest article, I referred to the increasing normality of cocaine use in bars, homes and work- places as a drug acclimatisation process.

I wrote that it was powered not by celebrities, but by the inherent propensity for sadness that humans have, as Huxley once wrote. Peer pressure, familiarity and celebrity usage intensify it, but it's the emptiness of people that are drawn to a drug- any drug's- numbing effects.

Much has been written on the subject, and it seems like everyone is doing it.

That line, incidentally, embodies the essence of 'Social Norms.' People are easily influenced by others. If they think that many people are doing something, they are more inclined to do it themselves.

I recently visited Ibiza for a birthday, where drug use is deemed acceptable as part of the scene. There were a few times that young people we met told me it was 'only in Ibiza' that they took Class A's. I particularly remember hearing it in Pacha from a group of newly qualified dentists. Back home drugs weren't a necessity of lifestyle for them.

So what changed?

I think that the people we met were submitting to a pre- conceived social norm of the island, a norm that has been carefully manufactured by the clubs and bars.

These clubs and nights have titles like 'Amnesia', 'HedKandi' and 'Es Paradis' (the last one is for real). CD's are released called 'I Got Mashed in Ibiza', and drinks are so expensive in the clubs (16 euros each) that it actually seems logical to some people- logical, bear in mind- to take ecstasy or MDMA instead, at 5 euros each.

These clubs still make money from the drug use by offering bottles of water at 8 euros each.

The article I read on social norms was written by the brilliantly- named Daniel Finkelstein, and it said that if a person feels like everybody else is doing it, they will be psychologically more inclined to take the drugs themselves.

This is where media commentary on drug use can be unwittingly damaging in the fight to curb drug abuse. Finkelstein provides the (unsubstantiated) example that as more was written on teen binge drinking during the 2006- 2007 tabloid focus, binge drinking established itself as socially normal, and the figures went up afterwards.

It is contentious whether binge drinking went up as a result of people reading that everyone else was doing it, or at least believing that everyone else was doing it, but it can't be denied that billion pound industries like advertising and fashion are reliant upon herd mentalities and persuasion techniques.

I didn't have a name for it in my first article on cocaine use, so I called it an acclimatisation process, but now I'd band it under the idea of social norms.

Cocaine use is rising: There were 740 incidents of overdose in 2006-07 compared with 161 in 1998-99, according to official Government data.

Are the customs and police getting worse at detecting it, or is it that people are adopting an 'Ibiza mentality' more closer to home?

What seems challenging to the theory that media focus increases the normalcy of drugs, and thus its prevalence, is that the majority of articles denounce its use, and attempt to expose the harm drugs cause.

This appears not to matter. Supposedly we, the UK, are the worst offenders for cocaine use in Europe. On the surface, this is an incredibly negative article. The title bands the whole nation at the top of a deeply derogatory list.

But think of the solidarity that banding us against Europe creates- perhaps only subconsciously- and perhaps only in the current climate of the Lisbon Treaty.

I'd also question the motivations of the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs behind a report that portrays the UK like this. Why is it necessary to release a report like this?

On another note, I'm annoyed with the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Costa, who, despite his position, immaturely refers to cocaine as the 'white lady.' (This article really did frustrate me.)

I might be wandering away with my ideas here, so I'll end the article at this point. My original intention was to attribute the idea of drug acclimatisation under the less clunky name that I'd christened it, and I think the theory of social norms fits quite well, so I'm stealing it.

Finkelstein's 'social norm' theory provides another powerful indictment on the strength of the media in guiding public behaviour, even when the news is entirely negative.

Finkelstein suggests its political and socially helpful uses, so read the article and see how, for example, if people were told that everyone else were giving to charity, donations would increase as a result.

I'm still more inclined to believe that the idea of social norms are inextricably linked to a selfishness. I think that these norms may catch on easier when the people deem it beneficial to their lives, cocaine, holidays or going out.

Its a positive thought though, and he wants to raise £1 billion a year.

We'll see Finkelstein, we'll see.



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/
daniel_finkelstein/article3359660.ece