Pro-alcohol messages are pervasive in the media. It is estimated that children are exposed to an average of three alcohol ads per day. This level of exposure can affect their attitudes towards illegal drinking; children report more favorable beliefs towards drinking after viewing ads for alcohol. Even a single advertisement has been shown to affect a child’s judgment for two days (Rand, 2018).

A recent longitudinal study (Ellickson, Collins, Hambarsoomians, & McCaffrey, 2005) found that middle school students who reported greater exposure to alcohol advertising were more likely to drink alcohol in high school than those who reported less exposure. Since children spend so much of their time engaged with the media, which is laden with pro-alcohol messages, interventions targeted at equipping youth with the tools to resist the persuasive content of media messages is a necessary step in addressing the problem of underage drinking.

Media messages that promote tobacco and nicotine are pervasive as well. The correlation between youth exposure to pro-tobacco media messages and tobacco use by youth is well-documented (Hébert et al., 2017). In numerous empirical studies, high levels of exposure to smoking in movies are associated with smoking initiation (Dalton et al., 2009) and this media exposure has the largest effects on youth who are traditionally at a low risk for smoking.

Additionally, the e-cigarette industry has recently experienced explosive growth. Approximately 20% of high schoolers have used an e-smoking device within the past 30 days, and many companies make candy-flavored pods that could directly appeal to youth (CDC, 2018). With fewer standardized health warnings and a general lack of public knowledge, young people may be unaware of the many negative health effects that may result from using vaping devices (O’Brien, 2018; Pepper, 2018).

iRT was contracted by the NC DMHDDSAS to create an evidence-based substance abuse prevention program using a media literacy education approach; the result is Media Ready.

A plethora of evidence shows the strong effects of media on youths’ attitudes toward substances, and iRT has spent over a decade researching how to effectively use media literacy education to prevent substance abuse. Media Ready represents the cutting edge of this research. Using theoretical models and empirical testing, Media Ready delivers a program perfectly suited to middle schoolers’ needs.

Research on the effects of the Media Ready program (Kupersmidt, Scull, & Benson, 2012) found that Media Ready reduced intentions to use alcohol for boys and intentions to use tobacco for youth who had tried tobacco in the past. Students who took the program also demonstrated enhanced critical thinking about media messages. The Third Edition of Media Ready incorporates modern methods of marketing including social media and expands the tobacco content to include vaping/e-cigarette products, refuting the claim that they are “safe” or “clean” alternatives to smoking.