The essay “Delicate Friend” written by Lauren Jackson is about her social addiction to cigarettes. Lauren’s mother would smoke cigarettes with her friends in the kitchen of their home while gossiping and keeping the children out. Lauren was jealous of this secret group and saw smoking as the bond that brought it all together. Lauren sought to be part of something and she saw cigarettes as the answer to this problem. While perfecting the art of stealing an occasional cigarette she become part of a group, the smokers.
Lauren found acceptance and courage and used cigarettes as a social crutch throughout her life. Lauren believes cigarettes taught her life lessons and that is why she continues to smoke them despite known health effects. Although people may view alcohol, drugs, and other habits as addictions, they can also bring people together and make them feel socially acceptable. Over a lifetime and especially at a young age people are desperate to fit in. Quite frankly no one enjoys to be alone unless being alone makes them part of a special association of lonesome people.
The Term Paper on Virginia Slims Cigarette Ad Campaign of 1968
Tobacco has been prevalent throughout western culture since it’s introduction to Europe in the fifteenth century by Christopher Columbus. From English cigars to Native American pipes, tobacco’s popularity came from it’s recreational use. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that tobacco, specifically cigarettes, were identified to have a direct correlation with cancer. CNN’s Brief History of ...
Lauren states this almost exactly by saying “No one likes to be a social outcast, unless of course you can be involved in a separate society of them” (Jackson 71).
When people are new to an environment or just lost as an individual they search for anything to help them become part of something bigger than themselves. Sometimes the answer to this problem may be drugs, alcohol, or other habits. When someone is considered a loner or forlorn they tend to feel as though they are looked down upon or that they are lacking something.
Material goods can be the key to this reception even if they are not something that is physically intriguing to the individual. Not only do the feelings of being lonesome start at an early age, but the idea of seeking drugs (alcohol included) and material goods to fill that gap also start early. Many things such as advertisements, peers, and particularly parents bring upon the curiosity and idea of this “bridge”.
Lauren gets this idea of using substances as a precursor of socialization from her mother as seen in the quote “ I used to sit in the dining room round the corner of the wall, to be out of view, and listen to her [Lauren’s mother] gossip and smoke while she danced around…” (Jackson 70), in conclusion “It seemed to me that smoking was an invitation to the secrets they shared” (Jackson 70).
When kids see adults at parties and bars drinking they are evident to the social aspects that comes along with the alcohol. For example, think of the popular beer commercials on television today, they generally have a lot in common and one of those denominators is that it shows a group of close people enjoying each other’s company.
The youth today grow up with the idea that drugs, alcohol and other substances go hand and hand with social gatherings. Regardless of what some may say, participating in illegal activities come with excitement, an adrenaline rush, and a sense of rebellion and satisfaction. While most “hard” drugs are illegal to use, it is also illegal to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol under a designated age. When people do these things illegally they like to take in the feelings that come along with the actions with others. These events bring groups of people together and give people a sense of belonging.
This idea is shown in statements made by Lauren, “There is a system to smoking below the legal age. And I had it perfected. ” (Jackson 70), she went on to state, “I felt ingenious living this reticent life” (Jackson 70).
The Essay on Drugs And Alcohol Alcoholism Drinking Drug
Drugs and Alcohol For nearly 85 years, the government has prohibited psychoactive drugs. American leaders attempted to do the same to alcohol with Prohibition in the 1920? s. In any society, drug use plays a part in the people? s culture. Whether it be a native taking hallucinogens for a religious ceremony, a destitute alcoholic drinking on a city street, or a group of teenagers smoking marijuana, ...
Although it may seem or sound glorified, just the named assigned to a person who partakes in certain actions can make them feel less lonesome. When an individual smokes weed on a regular basis he or she may be named a “stoner” and is granted admission to the other “stoners”. When someone is known for drinking until drunk on various occasions he may be considered a “partier” and is grouped with the infamous “partiers”.
An example of the simplicity of just being assigned a name is shown in “Delicate Friend” when Jackson states, “I quickly joined up with “The Bad Girls. ” I was someone”(Jackson 71).
The recognition and audacity brought upon by drugs and alcohol is key to their value as socializing components. Most people have heard of the term “liquid confidence” which is given to alcohol because of its tendency to give people the confidence to do things they wouldn’t generally be able to do because of embarrassment and lack of confidence.
Not only do these ubstances give individuals confidence they generally wouldn’t have it also gives them an excuse to do things that generally wouldn’t be seen as “right” and removes the awkwardness that may make them search for recognition. Jackson presents an example of these ideas in stating, “What I found in those tight little rolls of tobacco was acceptance and courage” (Jackson 70).
This brings a story of Josh Hamilton to mind. Josh Hamilton was once considered the greatest high school prospect to ever live, but on his way to the big leagues he played on a semipro team where he began to feel out of place.
Josh was very sheltered growing up and this set him apart from the older and more unruly players. In this time of discontent he was fascinated with a sense of rebellion that he believed went along with acceptance. Along with this sense of rebellion, Josh sought a way to get away from his criticized sheltered life and found this answer in tattoos. Josh would sit in a chair for hours getting tattoos of the artist’s choice just for a feeling of rebellion and acceptance. Josh would then return home to see what tattoos he had gained for the first time and also take in his new feeling of being “just another one of the guys”.
The Essay on The Introduction Of Young People To Beverage Alcohol Varies Considerably
The introduction of young people to beverage alcohol varies considerably in different cultural settings. In many societies the age at which the purchase and public consumption of beverage alcohol becomes legal is also the age at which other "adult" rights and responsibilities are bestowed. What is neither clear nor consistent is the age at which this should occur. Communities recognize the ...
People will get tattoos, torture their bodies with substances, and act in other ways that they do not desire just to get what they do desire, acceptance. As those searching for a place in life and the social order find substances as an answer to their problem they become addicted. Not only addicted to the substances themselves in some cases, but also addicted to the social gaps they fill as well. They become addicted to the idea that they need drugs or alcohol to be socially acceptable and use it as a crutch. Jackson implies “…the fact is that I am more addicted to the social environment of smoking than I am the actual nicotine. (Jackson 71).
Also, in some instances individuals like what the substances say about them and feel as if they have a reputation to withstand. If someone is known to drink excessively and to be the life of the party, without drinking alcohol they will no longer be able to be the person that made them associated with the “partiers”. Lastly, people feel as if they learned lessons from the substances that helped them socially, “I [Lauren] learned how to be social, intimate, helpful, constant, and rebellious by smoking. ” (Jackson 71).
When comes down to it, at some point people have to determine whether or not they want to use substance as a permanent social crutch or if they would rather be themselves and accept their place in society. Some think that their place in society is taking part in those activities and others decide that the health risks and false impersonation outweighs this socializing crutch. As Lauren stated, lessons can be learned from these substances and their societal effects, but taking these lessons learned and applying them without the substance itself is the hard part.
The actual using of the narcotics and elements may not be right, but it cannot be stated that they do not give people a way to bridge the gap between themselves and group of “friends” which they may desire. No matter what the age at which it was learned, whether it was the name assigned or the rebellion that was found intriguing, or just the fact that people get lonely; alcohol, drugs and other habits can bring people together and make them feel socially acceptable.
The Essay on Human Behaviour Social Learn
Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, psychologists tended to believe that the explanations offered by classical and operant conditioning were fully adequate to understand human behaviour. Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus become associated, such that the former comes to elicit a response previously elicited only by the ...
