Katie Barr
Teen dramas, drugs, and the fine line between storytelling and glorification
It’s 11pm on a school night, you’re elbow-deep in a binge-watching spiral. Rue from Euphoria is back at it, popping pills in slow motion, bathed in neon lights and Labrinth’s haunting soundtrack sets the mood. It looks cinematic. It feels intense. And you’re hooked.
Welcome to Gen Z’s TV landscape.
But here’s the thing – why are we watching yet another teen drama where getting high, lighting up, or spiralling out on drugs is … a whole vibe?
Welcome to Gen Z’s TV landscape. Shows are raw, edgy, and brutally honest about the messy parts of adolescence. But somewhere between the tears, hookups, and heartbreaks, there’s a sneaky narrative slipping in between the lines: drugs = cool, deep, and misunderstood. And it’s time we talk about it.
Once upon a time, in the 90s, Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell had a full-blown breakdown over caffeine pills. Cue the iconic “I’m so excited! I’m so … Scared” meltdown. The takeaway from this? Simple: drugs are bad.
It’s almost like an Instagram highlight reel for bad decisions… and that’s where things get sticky.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and the teen shows today aren’t playing it so safe. Euphoria, 13 Reasons Why, and the cult classic Skins throw their characters headfirst into addiction, trauma, and risky behaviour – sometimes with all the glitter and slow-mo of a music video. Don’t get me wrong, these shows often mean well; they want to show the real stuff. But somewhere along the way, those moody aesthetics and complex characters start making drug use feel less like a cautionary tale and more like a rite of passage.
When characters like Rue (Euphoria) and Effy (Skins) are surviving – or even thriving – through their addictions, it sends a muddled message. It’s real, sure, but is it too romanticised?
On-screen drug use isn’t always about the plot. Sometimes it’s about the aesthetic. Picture it: dreamy, colour-sated cinematography, perfectly curated playlists, characters staring out of windows, cigarette in hand, thinking deep thoughts. It’s almost like an Instagram highlight reel for bad decisions… and that’s where things get sticky.
what you see on screen doesn’t just stay there – it sticks with you.
These shows often frame substance use as a gateway to creativity, rebellion, or emotional depth. Rue isn’t just an addict – she’s a poet of pain. Cassie isn’t just self-destructive – she’s misunderstood. It’s complicated and nuanced, but for teens still figuring out who they are, it’s dangerously easy to think, “maybe I need to go off the rails to find myself too.”
When you’re watching your favourite characters spiral, it’s easy to think, “that’s just fiction.” But studies and experts are waving red flags: what you see on screen doesn’t just stay there – it sticks with you.
It spins the fairytale that you can party like a rockstar, cry in slow motion, and still wake up without consequences – like life hands out plot armour.
According to Addiction centre, teenagers are at a higher risk for developing substance abuse problems because their brains are still in the decision-making slow lane. They are biologically wired to be impulsive and seek out new experiences. Combine this with the normalisation of drug-taking within the media, it shouldn’t be a surprise that curiosity piques and participation increases.
But it’s not just about curiosity; these types of series often show characters misusing drugs without the harsh consequences being highlighted. Sure, the characters face resultant hardships like overdoses and addiction, yet there is always a continuation of the same self-destructive habit. So, it’s not hard to think that if they can act in this way and still have ‘main character energy’ then maybe it’s not such a big deal. It spins the fairytale that you can party like a rockstar, cry in slow motion, and still wake up without consequences – like life hands out plot armour.
And then there’s social media. You’ve probably seen the TikTok edits – Rue’s highs or Effy’s tears, set to Billie Eilish or Lana Del Ray. Those aesthetic edits can make addiction look like it has a surreal, tragic beauty to it. Romanticising the tragedy of drug-taking characters often blurs the line between “this is a problem” and “this is iconic.”
It’s easy to point fingers at the writers and producers. And sure, they do have a responsibility to tell stories that don’t gloss over the consequences, to think about the audience and the possible repercussions. But it’s complicated. These shows are trying to explore real issues – addiction, mental health, trauma – in ways that don’t feel preachy.
It’s just TV magic. In real life, there’s no soundtrack, no mood lighting – just messy consequences.
Some get it right. The Fosters, for example, handles substance abuse with realism and empathy. When Jesus struggles with his ADHD medication, the show doesn’t romanticise it. Instead, it shows how his choices impact not just himself but his family and future. Or Never Have I Ever – instead of leaning into a tortured teen narrative, it balances drama with humour and still manages to tackle heavy stuff without making substance abuse look glamorous.
Nobody is asking for these shows to become boring after school specials. But there is space for a little more honesty. What if the characters we love dealt with the real fallout of their choices? Better yet, schools and communities could step up media literacy education through teaching teens how to think critically about what they’re watching.
These messy teen dramas are our guilty pleasure. They’re cathartic, relatable, and sometimes a little too close to home. But when drugs and smoking are dressed up as personality traits instead of the serious issues they are, it’s time to hit pause.
So yes, binge the drama, root for your faves, get way too invested in who’s dating who, but just remember – when the credits roll, nobody is handing out extra lives. That artsy slow-mo shot of someone lighting up? It’s just TV magic. In real life, there’s no soundtrack, no mood lighting – just messy consequences.
Katie Barr
Featured image courtesy of Kyle Cleveland via Unsplash Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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