Which would compel you to make your diet more nutritious? Reading an article on the health dangers of high-sugar, high-fat diets or reading an article on the cynical practices of food companies and how they make unhealthy foods more addictive?
If you answered the latter, you’re not alone. According to a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doing something just because it’s the healthier choice doesn’t cut it for most teens. Instead, adolescents are more likely to adopt healthy behaviors in order to feel socially conscious or to rebel against a corrupt authority figure.
An article in The New York Times likens these findings to a 2000 anti-smoking campaign, which “framed smoking as an act of corporate submission” to a corrupt tobacco industry. “Adolescents have this craziness that we can criticize — or we can tap into,” Ron Berger, who taught public school for 28 years, told The NY Times. “This is a time in their lives when justice matters, more than any other time.”
So what else might a teenager be compelled to do (or not do) in the name of benevolent defiance, questioned NY Times author Amanda Ripley. “Could adolescents who learn about the profit motives of the beauty industry begin to see photo shopped images as propaganda? Could they start to resent how video-game designers borrow slot-machine manufacturers’ tricks to make their products more addictive?”
Getting Motivated to Get Help
Sobriety empowers you to find your purpose—and Hope Academy can help. To learn more about our young adult addiction program, call today: 866-930-4673.
Sobriety empowers you to find your purpose—and Hope Academy can help. To learn more about our young adult addiction program, call today: 866-930-4673.
