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Young people in need: nicotine and media addiction to an alarming increase!
The increase in nicotine and media addiction among young people shows alarming trends while alcohol consumption goes back.
Young people in need: nicotine and media addiction to an alarming increase!
In recent years, addictive behavior among young people in Austria has changed significantly. This is evidenced by the "Council on Wire" consulting service, which in 2024 recorded around 857 consultations on addiction questions, which corresponds to an increase of 0.7 percent compared to the previous year. The reasons for this increase are diverse, but show a clear trend: less alcohol, but increasingly nicotine and media dependency. Noen reports that the inquiries from young people to nicotine problems in recent years have increased exploded exploded in recent years have. Between 2019 and 2023 they rose by 86 percent and from 2023 to 2024 by a further 24 percent.
of the 857 consultations in 2024 concerned psychosocial questions above all the use of nicotine bags, which are very popular with young people due to their age -appropriate design and purely nicotine -containing content, although they are only allowed from the age of 18. Group pressure plays a crucial role here, as experts from "Council on Wire" found, who also indicate the need to clarify young people about the risks.
media use as an addiction problem
In addition to the challenges of nicotine consumption, a dramatic increase in consultations for excessive use of digital media was found. This grew by impressive 71 percent, which indicates that many young people may not even notice the limits of their media consumption. Experts emphasize that digital media are often used as a coping strategy for stress, which has questionable consequences for health and well -being.
In contrast, parents report an increasing concern about the media addiction of their children, while using alcohol among young people, according to the results of "Council on Wire", has decreased compared to previous years. A decline of 7.6 percent was found in 2023. Salzburg24 emphasizes that this is more likely to deal with alcohol and that the coma is less common among young people.general trends in youth consumption
The ESPAD survey of 2024 also shows interesting trends in consumer behavior. Around 60 percent of young people reported that they had consumed alcohol in the last 30 days, with about 20 percent drinking regularly. At the same time, the consumption of conventional cigarettes has significantly reduced, while e-cigarettes and nicotine bags are becoming increasingly popular. In particular, the consumption of e-cigarettes has quadrupled, which illustrates the postponement of the addiction patterns in adolescents. GöG stated that the proportion of pupils who have never consumed alcohol has quadrupled since 2007.
Overall, the development shows that young people consume less alcohol, but at the same time have become more susceptible to other forms of addiction, such as nicotine and digital media. These changes in consumer behavior require proactive action by parents, schools and experts in order to support the young people in their development and to clarify them about the risks associated with these new forms of addiction.