triple j youth census shows massive decline of illegal downloads and overwhelming support of pill testing

The results are in from triple j‘s second What’s Up In Your World survey, which saw 11,000 Aussies between the ages of 18 – 29 answer questions around drug and alcohol use, sexuality, work, technology and more.

Drugs & Alcohol

Young Aussies are putting down the tinnies, with 39% of respondents consuming less alcohol in the past 12 months than the previous year.

Marijuana is still the drug of choice for young people, with 52% of respondents toking in the last 12 months. According to the triple j results, weed has been consumed by the majority of illegal drug-taking youths.

31% disagree that cannabis is a gateway drug, and no respondents said that they have used heroin in the last 12 months.

Almost half of drug-taking respondents say that they do not feel like a criminal when consuming or purchasing illegal substances, with only 15% agreeing somewhat or completely with the statement.

When it comes to music festivals, an overwhelming 83% of respondents would use pill testing if it was made available. This is coming from 55% of respondents who have said that they have brought drugs into a music festival – the number of people who have taken drugs at a festival without bringing them in themselves is not specified.

When it comes to legal highs, the use of nangs is on the rise, with an unsettling 24% of young people trying them in the last 12 months. (For those playing at home, nangs are the small silver canisters of nitrous oxide gas that you find in whipped cream bottles.)

Despite the government’s crackdown on codeine this year, 15% of respondents have consumed the opioid for a legal high.

Young people are also reaching out for help, with 40% of people who felt they needed help with drugs, and one in three people who felt they needed help for alcohol, actually getting it.

Technology

Pirating has taken a massive dive according to the survey, with 71% of respondents downloading less content illegally in the last 12 months.

They also are showing more scepticism towards social media, with 35% agreeing that their data and personal information isn’t safe on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

27% agree that social media is keeping tabs on their conversations through their phones.

Personal safety

Sadly, 14% of female respondents felt unsafe at gigs, compared to only 2% of male respondents.

This increased to 19% of women feeling unsafe at music festivals.

A massive 47% of young women have said that they feel unsafe at night, making them four times more likely than men.

See the full results of the survey HERE.