The red Solo cup: ubiquitous with college parties. Filled to the brim with a foamy beer, or a questionable red juice that someone translates to alcohol. It extrapolates youth, being social and having a good time.

So do students rely on alcohol to have a good time ? Absolutely, but it’s not their fault. It’s been embedded since early adolescence that alcohol must play a role in order to obtain certain social echelons, have fun, talk to the opposite sex or release stress.

It’s similar to how we are told what to listen to, what to wear and what food to eat. Marketing and  advertising are the driving forces behind young adults drinking.  It’s also comparable to how kids start to smoke although the motive might be slightly implicit.

I remember being young and impressionable, watching television, commercials and movies that catered to young teens such as “Can’t Hardly Wait” or “She’s All That.” These films are about the caveats and minutiae of high school (including all the drama) and the eventual transition into early adulthood.

In party scenes in movies like these,  the red Solo cup appears. Although alcohol is never  actually mentioned, the implication is that underage drinking is taking place. So when a young person reaches that age at which they might actually attend these social gatherings, drinking becomes the expected norm.

Social pressure mixed with marketing-driven expectations creates an environment that makes students rely alcohol to have a good time. Include personal issues, stress, socioeconomics (can’t go out of town on weekends, but a weekend of drinking will suffice!), and a conduit for students’ reliance on alcohol is created.

Drinking plays a role in shaping young people’s identity as well. Creating an image and knowing your place in the world  is very important to many young adults and college students.In many cases, you are told that the kind of liquor you choose to drink will directly affect the image you create for yourself.

Do you like dancing and clubbing? Here is some overpriced liquor with a clever acronym. Would you like to be a part of the counter-culture? Well, here is some craft brew to drink while you read some Ginsberg and twirl your mustache.

Although drinking can be a common conduit for socialization, conversations  and meeting new people, self control and a concise understanding of where the drive to drink derives from is important.

Students rely on drinking because America’s culture expects and encourages it.