CITIZENS RALLYING FOR CHANGE ON ALCOHOL

Does your kid spend a lot of time on Facebook, Myspace, Google Plus, or other social networking sites? If so, chances are that they’re also drinking and smoking pot. A new study shows that kids who frequently use social networking sites are more prone to indulge in drugs and alcohol.

The study, which was conducted by Columbia University, asked a thousand 12 to 17-year-old kids about their social networking, drinking, and smoking habits.

The study found that 70% of those interviewed used a networking site like Facebook everyday. The study also found that kids who use Facebook daily, are five times more likely to drink or smoke.

Joseph Califano, founder of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, told the Telegraph that images of underage drinking are rampant on Facebook, which encourages alcohol abuse.

Califano said: ”The time has come for those who operate and profit from social networking sites like Facebook to deploy their technological expertise to curb such images and to deny use of their sites to children and teens who post pictures of themselves and their friends drunk, passed out or using drugs.

Only 64 percent of parents said they monitor their child's social networking page.

The authors of the report called for parents -- still the greatest influence on a teen's decision whether to smoke, drink, or use drugs -- to present a consistent and unified front against substance abuse.

"In the cultural seas into which we toss our teens, parents are essential to preventing their substance abuse. Continuing to provide the electronic vehicle for transmitting such images constitutes electronic child abuse."