Economic Stress and Social Media’s Effect on Young Drivers

The world has changed quite significantly in the past few decades. Even looking at 2023 compared to 2020 there are drastic differences. This has meant a lot of new advances as well as regressions. Specifically, in the context of driving, it has created a whole new world. We live in an era where TikTok and tuition payments – two completely different, yet equally harmful, distractions– are inextricably linked to unsafe driving habits for young drivers. There is currently much more emphasis on standard driving safety. Don’t text and drive, don’t drink and drive, but internally it is much more complex than that. This is especially true for younger drivers. According to the CDC, “Crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure(CDC)”. For example, data from IIHS indicates that the crash rate per mile driven is about 1.5 times as high for 16-year-old drivers as it is for 18–19-year-old drivers(IIHS). The modern age of technology and economic environment can heavily influence young drivers by romanticizing reckless driving and financial hardships causing unwarranted stress.

Social media can influence certain drivers behaviors in ways that would never be thought of 20 years ago. Most older people are out of the loop with the world and don’t realize the potential dangers that exist for newer generations. On social media apps such as Instagram and Tik-tok, driving recklessly and irresponsibly is not only normalized, but admired by young people on these apps. Of course not every person that views these posts are going to take them seriously, but some may. Videos of kids driving drunk or going 70 miles over the speed limit are currently trending and receive millions of views, likes, and positive comments. The premise of the trend is jokingly saying that an intoxicated person should get behind the wheel and drive under the influence. Despite there being no finite research on if this trend can really lead to reckless driving, there have been other trends worse than this that resulted in injury or death. Some of these trends have been cited in an article posted by Seren Morris online. These trends include the Penny Challenge, which involved users plugging a charger into a socket only partly before dropping a penny in the gap. Once the penny hits the charger, it can cause an electric spark or even an electrical fire. Another challenge like this is the nutmeg challenge, which involves TikTok users mixing tablespoons of nutmeg with milk or water. “Large amounts of nutmeg can be intoxicating, but can also cause dangerous side effects like hypothermia, hallucinations, coma, and death (Morris)”. Since these things have happened before, this raises the question on how this can affect developing minds, and could very well happen because of reckless driving. On top of this, apps like Snapchat are the new norm for texting and sharing images. A young driver could send a snapchat as a “safer” way to respond while driving because it does not require as much attention as it would take in order to send a regular text message. This is just as dangerous as normal texting would be, and provides a false sense of confidence to drivers making them more prone to crashes. One way to prevent issues like this could be to ignore and discredit social media posts that contain this type of content. No amount of likes and follows would ever amount to a human life, whether it be yours or somebody else’s. A second solution to the snapchat issue and smartphones altogether is to set the device into car mode, or keep it out of reach. By doing this it will allow you to focus directly on the road and create less of a temptation to reach for the phone.

To nobody’s surprise, younger generations are much more stressed out in today’s economic and social landscape. According to a study that was conducted by the National Library of Medicine, “…the initial level of stress and tiredness of the driver can have a strong impact on stress, driving behavior and fatigue…(Magaña).” To no one’s surprise, young people go through a lot of stress inducing situations. Costs of college and skyrocketing inflation in recent years has made the youth unable to afford to do the old fashioned American dream anymore. They cannot purchase a house for 30 thousand dollars or go to prestigious schools for less than 10 thousand dollars in tuition like their parents did. This stress and anxiety can translate into panic attacks at the wheel. This happens because stress affects the body in similar ways that being drunk or sleep deprived do. All of these factors can put younger drivers very on edge and can easily sway attention from the road to these issues. Some solutions to this problem could be to try to change mindsets before driving. If you are having a bad day at work, chances are if there are complications on the drive home it could be rage inducing. Before reaching this state, thinking about the positives of the situation could be much more healthy and safe. In this case, using the end of the work day as motivation for not letting the situation get under your skin. Another more in depth solution could be to go to a therapist and seek professional help if you are experiencing a large amount of anxiety and stress. This can provide many benefits for other issues, but can help you stay more calm and relaxed while driving if your mood is elevated.

The same driving expectations and set of rules has not really changed much from 20 years ago, and because of this it is time for a change in the way people view safe driving. Nobody likes to talk about mental health openly, and this just adds to the problem. Young kids can also be subjected to all sorts of things in the modern era of technology that can be dangerous to their safety that older generations are not used to. Through the impressionability of social media and the anxiety finances getting in the way of life, these issues can be cause for concern for the safety of younger drivers on the road. Taking certain precautions such as taking a breather or keeping a phone out of arm’s length while driving can be enough to save a life.