Several Greene County residents learned about why youth are growing up in an unhealthy environment and how that affects them in the future.

Partnership for a Drug Free Iowa President Peter Komendowski says one of the biggest problems facing youth today is the double-edge sword of the media.  While he knows that the media is a driving economic force, Komendowski says don’t let the media become your life.

“It’s not the same to look at a picture, to look at a video screen (or) to send a text as it is to be with somebody face-to-face.  But in a world where media is trying to get your attention, in order to get your attention to buy or do the things that you want them to do, they have to get your attention away from the family, the teachers or the home.”

He points out that children don’t have a developed prefrontal cortex that helps them decide if their decisions are right or wrong.  According to the 2012 Iowa Youth Survey, 74 percent of 11th graders, and 19 percent of sixth graders, in the study say they know where to buy cigarettes, alcohol and illegal drugs.  47 percent of 11th graders thought it was okay for students in their schools to drink alcohol or do illegal drugs at a party.  21.56 percent of all beer consumed in Iowa in 2010 was by underage individuals.  Komendowski says children are even using language of an addict when they say they are hungover from the internet or are burnt out on video games.

The biggest thing that can be done to curtail negative effects for children is to increase interactions with your family members.  Komendowski believes that most children are inherently good, they just need face-to-face interaction to keep them from developing negative habits.

Some of the programs that Partnership for a Drug Free Iowa is working on to rebuild is accessibility to their Take Five program with a series of questions for parents to talk to their children about uncomfortable topics and a drug free workplace program.