Gen+Ynot?+Alcohol,+Drugs+&+Rock+'n+Roll

Gen Ynot? Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll Student Number: 06527752 Tutor: Katie Page Question: How healthy is Gen Y? What are the key public health issues facing this generation, and what are the driving social and cultural forces behind these issues?

This question is of paramount importance and a vital component of how society will alter and grow in the future. This wiki article will look at alcohol consumption, recreational drug use and the phenomenon of music festivals and the public health risks they present, and how that directly affects the heath of young Australians. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (2006) results from the National Health Survey in 2004/2005 show 18-24 year olds consume a total 5% more alcohol than the same age bracket surveyed in 1995. The National Drug Strategy Household Survey (2007) showed that the most common recreational drug users were those aged between 20 and 29 with a marked increase in alcohol, painkillers, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and methamphetamines since 1993. These statistics clearly indicate that there has been a rise in alcohol consumption and recreational drug use from Gen Y, but is their any link between the music culture of Gen Y and these characterising behaviours? To successfully answer the above questions, it is necessary to identify the major public health issue present, recognise cultural and social artefacts that are present in society, to review relevant literature and present a cultural and social analysis of the evidence found in the literature review and finally to provide an analysis of the cultural artefact selected.

Cultural Artefact The video and lyric link below is for the Festival Song by popular Australian hip hop artist Pez. The song is a stereotyped commentary on the festival season. Lyrically the artist comments on different approaches that festival goers take, common behaviours displayed and frequently references and expresses binge drinking and recreational drug use as the norm. The video itself is made at a music festival and therefore accurately portrays the events discussed.

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Public Health Issue

Identifiable public health issues seen and heard in the chosen cultural artefact include alcohol consumption and drug use. The report profile on Young Australians: Their health and wellbeing (2011) shows that 30% of 12-24 year olds drink at risky levels. Associated public health concerns that arise from this data include a staggering statistic of 38% of 12-24 year olds are regular victims of alcohol and/or drug-related violence and specified that per 100,000 12-24 year old persons there was 1,086 potentially preventable hospitalisations. At music festivals, particularly in summer, there is the potential for severe dehydration and other associated injuries and illness due to the nature of the events and climate. Drug use at festivals is widely acknowledged to exist, and with this comes irrational and erratic behaviours which can lead to dangerous situations.

Literature Review:

Research has been sparsely conducted in relation to the music festival scene, its motivators, the behavioural characteristics they encourage and perceived health issues and concerns they inspire. In Australia more than 17 annual festivals were established between 2000 and 2010, each attracting an audience of up to 30,000 young adults (Wilson, Bryant, Holt & Treloar, 2010). Although music festivals are not a recent occurrence, the rate at which they are growing and their popularity suggest that this is a social phenomenon that should be reviewed in more depth.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) Triple J is further evidence of a Gen Y music addiction with the company consisting of two radio stations, a television station, a magazine and an online downloading, uploading and blogging phenomenon has a target group of 18-30 year olds and boasts 36 years of being Australia’s number one promoter of Australian artists and live music (ABC, 2010). In the space of 12 months there are forty-three separate music festivals held around Australia supported by Triple J alone (ABC, 2010).

The social, emotional, physical and cognitive benefits of involvement in arts, in particular music, have been widely researched and acknowledged (Packer & Ballantyne, 2010). Cohen, Bailey and Nilsson (2002) provide evidence that suggests that the health benefits of musical engagement extend across the lifespan. As undoubtedly one of the most defining characteristics of Gen Y is their love of live music, why do music festivals come with so many negative behavioural connotations?

Packer and Ballantyne (2010) from the University of Queensland conducted research that explored the psychological and social well-being impacts that music festivals had on young adults in Australia. The study looked at four distinct faucets of attending a music festival, the music experience, the festival experience, the social experience and the separation experience and concluded that creating a fun and festive atmosphere that offers ample opportunity to socialize and have new and non-musical experiences is just as important to festival goers as the music itself. This study is the first that has attempted to explore the music festival experience from the viewpoint of a young adult.

The findings from Packer and Ballantyne (2010) are supported by Bowen and Daniels’s (2005) study that looked at the specific motivators for music festival attendance, and how important the music available at the festival was on the decision of a festival-goer to purchase a ticket. Bowen and Daniels (2005, p. 163) concluded that ‘creating a fun and festive atmosphere that offers ample opportunity to socialize and to partake in new and non-musical experiences’ is as significant to festival attendees as the music itself. The music experience was used as a common ground for attendees to build upon friendships and to facilitate new connections as well as a way to disconnect from their everyday lives, and thus hope to find fresh ways of observing their surroundings (Packer & Ballantyne, 2010).

Unfortunately with all positive findings, the must also come negatives. Packer and Ballantyne (2010) suggest such negative outcomes as antisocial behaviours with high exposure to festivals, as well as acknowledging the drug and alcohol abuse that is often associated with the events. Wilson et al (2010) explore the notion that the experience of illicit recreational drug use is more common among young people attending festivals comparatively to their peers in the general community and whether or not this behaviour is considered normal or whether it is limited to a small group of festival patrons. The study by Wilson et al (2010) was conducted at the Sydney Big Day Out, one of Australia’s largest and oldest music festivals, over a four year period. The research found that festival goers reported cannabis and ecstasy to be consistently easily obtained. Interestingly, patrons that abstained from drug use reportedly felt it would be easy to obtain cannabis, ecstasy and amphetamines. Socioeconomic status and education played a large part in the respondents contact with drug use and knowledge of drug use with the majority reporting high contact to be male and having left school without completing high school (Wilson et al, 2010).

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (2007) summary of data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey is indicative of a significant decline in cannabis use since 1993 as well as a notable increase in ecstasy, cocaine and amphetamines. These results are contradictory to those founded by Wilson et al (2010) suggesting that recreational drug use is far more common at a music festival.

Cultural & Social Analysis:

As the literature indicates, there is an established relationship between increased recreational drug use and music festivals. Drug use is an obvious hazard to the individual and it also creates a public health issue with the varying extensive side effects that they can have. It is common knowledge that drugs are a mind-altering substance, but what is a recreational drug? The Oxford English Dictionary (2009) defines the term Drug as ‘a substance with intoxicating, stimulant, or narcotic effects used for cultural, recreational, or other non-medicinal purposes.’

The huge crowds that each music festival draws in Australia, often 30,000 plus, are a crucial factor to consider when deciding on the importance of this population health issue. Take into consideration that there is then forty-three separate brands of festivals associated with Triple J, and then also take into account that many of these conduct multiple shows in various cities around the nation throughout the year. Every Australian, if they do not attend a festival themselves, will know or be related to someone who has attended a festival.

The normalisation of illicit drug use in Australia is a mitigating factor to the increased drug use at music festivals (Wilson et al, 2010). However, findings including the differing opinions between drug users and abstainers on perceptions of drug availability suggest that opportunities exist for drug education as a viable deterrent and therefore allowing a possible alteration in attitudes towards drug acceptability.

Drug education and awareness programs in Australia are not as prevalent as other public health concerns. The Queensland Governments’ (2006) Drug Strategy 2006-2010 was developed with goals including ‘improving health, social and economic outcomes by preventing and reducing the harmful effects of drug use’. With statistics showing that a music festival has a much higher drug use average than normal society (Wilson et al, 2010), 20-29 year olds are the highest users of recreational drugs (AIHW, 2007) and with the median age of Big Day Out attendee’s from 2005-2009 in Sydney fluctuating from 20-22 years of age (Wilson et al, 2010) it would seem the most significant demographic in need of this drug education is attending many of these festivals. Providing more educational resources and a tougher penalty for drug detections at music festivals could be a possible way to curb this frightening trend.

It is a delusion to believe that complete eradication of recreational drugs is an achievable solution. From a societal standpoint it is imperative that there is a turn around in the current social acceptability of drug use and disorderly behaviour associated with the attendance of music festivals in Australia.

Analysis of Cultural Artefact & Reflection:

//‘Its kinda funny when you think of all the fun how, it’s taken this long to shake last years come down’//

This segment of lyrics in the chosen artefact of Pez’s hip hop hit, The Festival Song clearly displays the assumed drug and alcohol abuse experienced at a music festival, thus rendering the song ideal for use as a cultural artefact for the analysis and exploration of drug use and music festivals.

Although I am Gen Y and passionately involved in the Brisbane music scene, I would not consider myself a ‘festival head’ and dislike attending festivals because of the, in my opinion, raucous behaviours that are so often exhibited at such events.

The lack of inquiry into the behaviours of young adults at music festivals coupled with the perceived societal mentality of drug use and general tomfoolery at these events as a norm beckons the question of why? Why is it socially acceptable, nay- encouraged, to drink so much alcohol and take so many drugs that you won’t remember your favourite bands’ set?

This just seems like a waste of money to me…

Whilst conducting research for this assessment piece, I found it very difficult to separate my personal opinion from the evidence. This was made even more challenging as there is a lack of evidence from refutable sources relating music festivals with drug use and alcohol consumption along with the most recent government statistics being more than four years old. I feel my views have been confirmed by the study’s conducted in Brisbane by Packer and Ballantyne (2010) and in Sydney by Wilson et al (2010) which indicated that whilst the music festivals are designed to be a positive and socially integrative experience, drug use is commonplace.

References:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (2010). //What is triple J?// Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/ Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006). //Alcohol Consumption in Australia: A Snapshot, 2004-15//. Retrieved from http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/4832.0.55.001/

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2007). //Recent patterns of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use.// Retrieved from http://aihw.gov.au/recent-patterns-of-alcohol-tobacco-and-other-drug-use/

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2011). //Young Australians: their health and wellbeing 2011.// Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737419261

Bowen, H. E. & Daniels, M. J. (2005). Does the music matter? Motivations for attending a music festival. //Event Management, 93//(3), 155-164.

Cohen, A., Bailey, B., & Nilsson, T. (2002). The importance of music to seniors. //Psychomusicology, 18//, 89-102.

Queensland Government. (2006). //Queensland Drug Strategy 2006-2010//, Queensland Government, Brisbane.

Oxford University Press. (2011). Drug. In //Oxford English Dictionary//. Retrieved November 2nd, 2011 from www.oed.com

Packer, J. & Ballantyne, J. (2010). The impact of music festival attendance on young people’s psychological and social well-being. //Psychology of Music, 39//(2), 164-181.

Wilson, H., Bryant, J., Holt, M., & Treloar, C. (2010). Normalisation of recreational drug use among young people: Evidence about accessibility, use and contact with other drug users. //Health Sociology Review, 19//(2), 164-175.

Learning Engagement and Reflection Task:

[|jenna.madden] - Each time you sleep with someone, you're also sleeping with his past WOW! Congratulations on creating such an interesting, informative and insightful wiki. Such an important yet overlooked topic that you have chosen and so successfully tackled. The research was so in depth and the I found your perceptiveness and sensitivity to the topic refreshing. A great read.   [|jenna.madden] - Farkitol WARNING; MAY CAUSE ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION Congratulations on finding such a great cultural artefact! Although such a serious issue, the comic relief provided from the audio clip was thought provoking and so well related. A treat to read such an insightful and well researched view on such a controversial topic. I particularly enjoyed your reflection on your chosen cultural artefact and the assignment as a whole. The side effect of reading this wiki - I will be reading the fine print on my prescriptions from now on! Great job!!  