Drink and drugs fuel rise in teen sex disease "A report, published by the Government’s Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health, says that high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are related to the culture of drinking and drug-taking among the young." An expression of internal discohesion It may appear paradoxical that the West's ageing societies exhibit an obsession with youthfulness as well as widespread contempt for the elderly. The advertising industry has recognised this and has succesfully managed to manipulate the thoughts, fears and desires of ordinary people to a considerable extent. In turn, the influence of the family and local community on the individual's behaviour has declined. Youngsters are being left to their own devices, adrift and bewildered and without an idea of what their role in society is. It is clear that in every epoch there are advantages and drawbacks. We are not advocating a return to the Victorian age, where the individual was often crushed in order to prepare him/her for his duties in his/her respective class. The question we are interested in is: How will our highly individualist, atomised societies react to a sudden and severe shock in the guise of an economic depression, macro-war etc.?