When 13-year-old Rue Bennet took her first hit of illegal OxyContin in Sam Levinson’s Emmy-winning show “Euphoria,” millions of teens across the world became hooked on a new, gritty style of media. The show, which premiered in June 2019, shocked and captivated viewers with its graphic depictions of sex and drugs among students at the fictional Eastland High School.
Today, “Euphoria” is one of the most popular shows on HBO despite — or maybe because — of its explicit content. But its fame begs the question: How is this graphic media affecting its young audience?
First, not all media portrays sensitive topics in the same way. While some might glorify triggering topics, others are able to acknowledge the dangers of these behaviors and explore them in a more nuanced light.
Saratoga High School therapist Victor Thompson pointed to the movie “Boyhood” as a good example of cinema where the main character’s identity isn’t defined by their struggles but their actions instead, a key component of quality representation.
“A movie should be able to just tell a character’s story,” Thompson said. “And if it so happens that in this story, they encounter things like alcohol or depression, but it’s not the focus, then it makes a more powerful, relatable story.”
Thompson also admires comedians like Dave Chappelle for their ability to address dark and difficult topics in a way that is digestible and engaging to their audience.
In fact, good representation is crucial to support those who are struggling. Today, almost one in five teenagers from ages 13 to 18 struggle with a serious mental health illness, according to the National Institute of Health, making media representations of serious topics more important than ever.
“We can all agree that any representation of a minority group, like a Black superhero or like an Asian politician, is helpful,” Thomson said. “The same way, it’s also helpful when you’re struggling with an ailment — or disorder — to see other people struggling. When you can relate to problems others are experiencing, it builds your empathy, which is extremely important to remedy things like depression and anxiety.”
But there are also media portrayals that glorify dangerous activities, giving viewers a false perception of what risky behaviors actually entail. Research conducted by the University of Rotterdam reveals that “risky behaviors are portrayed in a normalized manner [and] rarely problematized in popular, on-demand content.”
Oftentimes, it can leave young viewers feeling uncomfortable after watching.
“When I’m watching TV shows like ‘Euphoria’ or ‘Adolescence,’ I’m not scared,” Saratoga High School sophomore Aradhita Singh said. “If somebody told me that something like that happened [in real life], I wouldn’t think of it as that bad, just because I see it all the time in TV shows. But when I think about how young we all are, and the fact that it is people’s real lives, I start to get scared.”
Despite this concern, the real lives of teenagers have rarely lived up to popular media. High school drinking has plummeted from 88% in the ‘80s to 42% in 2024, and illicit drug use has followed a similar pattern — 65% in 1980 to 41% in 2022.
This disconnect fuels movies and TV shows that glorify a “golden era” of chaotic teenage life, one that doesn’t really exist.
Above all, experts like Thompson urge careful consumption of media.
“Poverty, addiction, crime — it’s certainly very real and reveals a darker slice of humanity, but it’s hyperbolized in the media for the sake of entertainment,” he said. “Being aware of your emotions is the best way to navigate this kind of material. If you notice that you’re feeling more volatile, depressed or anxious, stop watching certain [content]. Things that may trigger you are always going to be in the world, so if you learn how to work around them, you gain a lot more freedom.”
