San Luis Obispo County Friday Night Live Youth Flip the Script on Underage Drinking
Author: Behavioral Health
Date:
4/21/2021 4:23:08 PM
Local youth work to reduce underage drinking and expose the truth about alcohol use.
Students enrolled in the Paso Robles High School, Templeton High School, Shandon High School, and Los Osos Middle School Friday Night Live (FNL) chapters are working on a year-long social norms campaign that seeks to tackle the issue of underage drinking.
The campaign is part of a larger statewide effort to reduce underage drinking. Thirty-five FNL Chapters are working to change social norms in communities across California. In general, young people tend to overestimate the number of their peers who choose to partake in underage drinking. Friday Night Live students are challenging this misperception by promoting positive messaging to not using alcohol before age 21.
“I always thought that so many more kids my age drank, and it was a big insecurity of mine since I do not partake in that type of activity,” stated a Templeton High School senior. “Seeing that there are more people like me has taken a large pressure off my shoulders of thinking I need to and has helped me learn that norms are not the true rules to society.”
Through weekly chapter meetings during the 2020-2021 school year, students learned about local data debunking the myths v. facts of underaged drinking norms. Students then worked to develop youth-targeted posters, adult-targeted educational materials, and a public service announcement to promote positive norms that support young people's healthy choices.
Friday Night Live encourages the public to be on the lookout for their awareness posters at local restaurants, liquor stores, and other community spaces and to continue to support conversations with youth about underage drinking.
About Friday Night Live
Friday Night Live, a California program started in 1984, is a youth development program that promotes healthy lifestyles free of alcohol, tobacco, or other substance use among youth. Friday Night Live builds partnerships for positive and healthy youth development, which engage youth as active leaders and resources in their community. For more information about the Friday Night Live, visit www.fridaynightlive.org .
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.