Ghanaian actress Beverly Afaglo has warned that there is an urgent need to address the new lifestyle of today’s youth, mostly referred to as Gen Z.
According to the actress, the rate of weed smoking, drinking and casual sex among young people is worrying.
Afaglo raised this concern during an interview on Accra 100.FM with host Nana Romeo.
Asked what advice she would leave for the youth, she said, “The smoking and the drinking is too much. For those of us who were born in the 80s, our time, when you hear someone smokes, it means they are so bad as truants.
“It’s ok. The world is exposed now, and weed is not seen as something that bad, but you are too young to engage in things like that.
“It has now become a common lifestyle that they smoke and drink a lot, with some renting AirBnB for parties to do so many bad things that they can’t remember the next day,” she lamented.
Beverly’s concern comes amidst reports by The National Institutes of Health’s “Monitoring the Future” survey, which has tracked the behaviours and attitudes of young adults since 1975 and has revealed concerning trends in substance use among Americans aged 19 to 30.
According to the 2022 report conducted by the University of Michigan, marijuana use reached record highs, with nearly 43% of respondents stating they had used the drug in the past year—up significantly from 29% in 2011.
Additionally, more than 28% reported using marijuana in the past month, and over 10% admitted to daily use, defined as consuming marijuana 20 times or more in the previous 30 days.
The survey results also showed an increase in the use of hallucinogens among young adults, reflecting shifting attitudes towards recreational drug use as marijuana becomes legal in more states.
While the rates of substance use were not significantly higher than in 2020, the data still marks the highest levels of marijuana consumption recorded since 1988, raising concerns among experts monitoring youth substance use. The findings were highlighted in a report by The Washington Post.
According to the mother of two, who is the wife of musician Choirmaster (of Praye fame), she is also baffled over how conversations about HIV are no longer loud.
“I get so worried about HIV that it is not loud anymore; when we were growing up, HIV was in our faces on TV.
“We were seeing people sick and losing weight drastically. You wouldn’t be like that, so you won’t engage in these things, but the kids of today, they understand HIV can be well managed now, so they are not bothered,” she said.
She, however, warns that, even though HIV can be managed, contracting it will make certain decisions like finding a partner to marry hard.
