Tiktok as a gateway drug?

I was still at school when «Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo» was published at the end of the 1970s. In the book, which is based on facts, 13-year-olds were already addicted to heroin, living in run-down Berlin shacks and prostituting themselves. We young people were shocked and put off at the time - but the explicit descriptions of intoxication also aroused our curiosity. Inspired by the bestseller, some of my classmates tried marijuana for the first time, while the more experienced stoners among us turned to stronger drugs.

I was reminded of this recently after a German youth channel reported on young children uploading videos of themselves on Tiktok while high on drugs. The report made big waves in the media. In Switzerland too. Watson.ch, for example, ran the headline: «Teenagers take hard drugs and film themselves».

Is this just scaremongering? Unfortunately not. I watched the almost 35-minute video «Drauf sein auf Tiktok: Likes für den Rausch» produced by Norddeutscher Rundfunk NDR on YouTube and found that it absolutely rightly draws attention to a highly worrying situation.

It's not yet a trend when some completely intoxicated children present themselves on Tiktok. But because this social network is particularly popular with the young target group, these easily findable clips are incredibly dangerous. «It's really triggering,» explains one young person in the article, «when you see people with dilated pupils or talking about it.»

Children very quickly come under the influence of dubious circles

Some even confess how they took drugs for the first time at the age of eight or nine, others how they were first inspired to do so by Tiktok. It's a bit like the book about Christiane F.: children can very quickly fall into dubious circles with a bad influence - only nowadays this also happens via the internet.

With one fatal difference, which the makers of the article warn of: Tiktok is not only a fairly easy way to make contact with other drug users, but also serves as a source of supply for all kinds of drugs. Through Tiktok and corresponding groups, it is said, it has become easier than ever to get hold of hard drugs, which are then delivered by taxi.

Our task is to provide our children with comprehensive information and to ensure that they are categorised accordingly.

However, it would be wrong to blame Tiktok alone for the glorification of drugs. Other media also play a significant role today. It is all too easy for children and young people to come across scenes with joints, lines or crack cocaine in the popular film streaming services.

Series show the supposedly cool side of drug use

Just a few months ago, the series version of «Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo» was advertised as a new highlight on Amazon Prime. One customer reviewer finds «that the series format promotes drugs rather than shocking, because what is really emphasised are the crazy, pseudo-cool things you do under the influence of drugs, the many friends you make, the crazy party nights».

The three Netflix seasons of «How to sell drugs online fast» also have a rather glamorising character. Just like the numerous music videos by rappers, which sometimes deal with drug experiences in a drastic, sometimes amusing, sometimes heroic way. Swiss addiction experts criticise the fact that many rappers either trivialise or praise drugs. When young people see how much fun it is to smoke a bong, it's like an invitation to try it too.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to prevent our children from finding unsuitable content that tempts them into unwise behaviour. However, it is our job to provide them with comprehensive information and ensure that they are categorised accordingly. We won't get anywhere with moralising lectures, but we can with honest conversations full of facts and comprehensible information.

Even if it sounds old-fashioned, we should keep an eye on who is in our children's circle of friends and acquaintances.

Why not take a self-critical look at your own habits, such as the cup of coffee in the morning, the glass of wine in the evening or the indulgent cigarette? This can lead to fruitful discussions with children and young people at eye level. However, it doesn't make things any easier that there is a high level of acceptance for smoking weed among adults today. According to a survey conducted in 2021 on behalf of the Federal Office of Public Health, two thirds of the Swiss population are in favour of legalising cannabis.

Even if it sounds a little old-fashioned, we should keep an eye on who our children's friends and acquaintances are. After all, it is well known that they mainly come into contact with intoxicants through private contacts. Peer pressure also plays a significant role, which can be seen in the school drinking game of beer pong. This can quickly lead to risky mixed consumption of alcohol and drugs.

Strong self-confidence is the best prevention

Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. When my youngest son was 14 years old, he took part in one such binge with his peers in a forest. However, he was the only one who fainted. The others fled in panic and left him alone. A girl then took pity on him and informed us parents.

The most successful form of prevention is when we help our children to develop strong self-confidence and teach them to take responsibility for themselves. They should learn to say no, deal with rules and agreements in a well-considered manner and, above all, know when, where and from whom they can seek advice and help.

From my time at school, I know that the children who were most at risk were always those who lived in difficult social or family circumstances, who felt lonely and misunderstood or who were unable to cope with the pressure to perform at school. Nothing has changed in this respect. Parents may therefore sympathise with the motives for drug and alcohol consumption, but not necessarily with the consumption itself.