Teen drug use continued to fall in 2024, extending a dramatic decline spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic that experts expected would reverse now that the acute phase of the global crisis is well over.
But, according to data released Tuesday, the number of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders who collectively abstained from the use of alcohol, marijuana, or nicotine hit a new high this year. Use of illicit drugs also fell on the whole and use of non-heroin narcotics (Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet) hit an all-time low.
"Many experts in the field had anticipated that drug use would resurge as the pandemic receded and social distancing restrictions were lifted," Richard Miech, team lead of the Monitoring the Future survey at the University of Michigan, said in a statement. "As it turns out, the declines have not only lasted but have dropped further."
Kusch explored the United Arab Emirates with her kids.
Jennifer Kusch
In May 2023, Jennifer Kusch relocated to Dubai for a job opportunity.
Her teen sons were initially against the move and said she was "ruining" their lives.
But she says the experience of living abroad has brought them closer together.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jennifer Kusch, 47, who works in talent acquisition. Kusch moved from Idaho to Dubai with her kids in 2023. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Early last year, my company approached me about a job opportunity in Dubai.
At first, I said no. I had just bought a house in Idaho, where I was raising three kids. As a single mom, moving to the Middle East sounded hard, so I declined. But my boss at the time encouraged me to apply, and I thought, "Fine, why not?"
I got the job and was set to start in 30 days. My daughter was 18 then, and my sons were 15 and 13. When they came home from school, I read them the book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss and then said, "Guys, we're moving to Dubai."
My daughter was about to graduate fromhigh school but was excited about an adventure. My 15-year-old, on the other hand, said, "You're ruining my life. My people are here. This is where I belong." And my 13-year-old echoed his brother.
The job commitment was for two years. I said, "We're going to go for two years. We're going to see what happens."
I remember crying in my bedroom after thinking, "Oh my gosh, I'm doing this selfishly. I want to do this for my career. Am I ruining my kids' lives?"
But then I thought abouthow many other teenagers musthave said the same thing to their parents.
And so I had another discussion with my children a week later and said, "I hope that you can look at this as an adventure."
It was a big move for all of us
I had traveled outside the US but never lived abroad or been to Dubai. I traveled to the city alone lastApril whilemy kids were finishing the academic year.
When I arrived in Dubai, I tested out the public transportation so I could teach my kids how to ride the bus, hop on the metro, or take a taxi.
I found a townhouse-style villa away from downtown Dubai and spent six weeks furnishing the place so that all the kids would have to do was unpack their suitcases. My company provided an allowance to "settle in." While it didn't cover rent, it helped me set up a home for my family. They also covered the flights and most of my kids' school fees.
When I was done, I flew back for my daughter's graduation. I decided to sell everything I owned — apart from my house — as I didn't want to have to pay loads of money for storage.
Although my initial commitment was for two years, I was on a local contract and could stay in Dubai as long as I had a job. It was a calculated risk, selling everything and anticipating my love for living abroad.
In May 2023, I flew with my kids to Dubai. We arrived at the beginning of summer when many expats tend to leave the city because of the heat. The high temperatures in Dubai between May and August range from around 100 to 105 °F.
Kusch and her kids made a bucket list of things to do in Dubai.
Jennifer Kusch
That summer, my kids didn't have any friends. However, they had one another. I was grateful for that.
When I got home, our wall was full of sticky notes with things to do. We planned fun outings, like visiting Warner Bros. World in Abu Dhabi and having an Emirati dinner. When we were done, we would move the sticky notes on the wall from "to do" to "done."
So, instead of sulking and being sad inside, we were excited about what we could discover.
My kids have benefited from living in Dubai
My sons now attend a school with an American curriculum, but they are the only American students. Ithas allowed them to meet people from all over the world.
They also have independence here that they never had in the US. My 14-year-old son will get in a taxi and go wherever he wants. There's freedom and safety that they have not experienced before.
This has all contributed to why they now love Dubai. On Thanksgiving last year, my older son said, "I'm so grateful that you moved us here." That was music to my ears because I've watched them grow up a lot.
Mark Cuban learns about new technologies and trends through his teenage kids.
Knowing about social media also allows the billionaire to connect with them.
Cuban recently left "Shark Tank" to spend more time with his kids.
Social media may feel like unchartered territory to some parents — but Mark Cuban is leaning in.
In an interview with People posted on Thursday, the entrepreneur shared eight rules that he follows in life — including this one parenting tip.
"Number one, follow the scroll," Cuban, 66, said. "Oh my goodness, I learned so much from my kids. I learned what 'skibidi' is," he said, referring to the Gen Alpha lingo. "Skibidi Toilet" is an animated YouTube series about singing and dancing toiletlike creatures that want to take over the world.
Social media is an integral part of their lives, he added. "I keep on learning from them because they are exposed to all these new technologies."
Referring to himself as a "tech guy," Cuban said he tries to understand how social media algorithms influence his kids' lives.
"They're in the car, and I'm driving my son. I can look over at a stoplight and see him scrolling through his Instagram or TikTok and know exactly what he's interested in," he said.
"Trying to be able to connect to him, which, like for any parent, could be almost impossible, but it's just informative," he added.
Cuban has three kids, who are 14, 17, and 21.
In May 2020, he posted a video on Instagram of him dancing with his daughters. "Teaching me to dance 😂😂😂," he wrote in the caption.
Last November, Cuban announced that he would leave "Shark Tank" after Season 16, which premiered in October on ABC.
"I'm leaving just to spend more time with my kids — they're teenagers now," he told The Wrap in October. "We shoot in June and September, and just getting the opportunity now when they're getting out of school to be able to spend time directly with them, that's important. I'm tired of missing that."
Cuban is not alone in using social media as a tool of connection.
Nina McCollum recently wrote for Business Insider that she uses TikTok and Instagram to communicate with her teenage son. They watch social media content together and have discussions about them.
"Politics, religion, science, life choices, and risk-taking are just some of the discussions social content has sparked," she wrote. "None of this connection would be happening if we didn't communicate through these videos."
A few celebrity parents have resorted to other means of connection.
"Modern Family" actor, Julie Bowen, said she hangs out around the house so her three teen sons know where to find her if they need her.
"If you just kind of park it, make fake cookies in the kitchen no one's ever going to eat, they start coming in and out. You start having conversations with teenagers," Bowen said in an October episode of "The Three Questions with Andy Richter" podcast.
Molly Shannon, a "Saturday Night Live" alum, advised parents of teens to change their attitudes about parenting in an interview on "Today with Hoda and Jenn." She added that they should have empathy when interacting with their teens.
"Most of the time, they just want to be heard. I try to think of that," she said.
Cuban did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
Uber has 30 days to require certain drivers to get fingerprinted if the ride-hail giant intends to continue transporting unaccompanied teens in California. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a ruling Thursday that requires taxi and ride-hail drivers who are carrying unaccompanied minors in the state to pass a fingerprint background check. The ruling […]
The author (not pictured) has location tracking on her teenagers' phones.
Daniel Lozano Gonzalez/Getty Images
I'm a mom to two teenagers and have had to learn how to navigate them going out to parties.
I must have the address where the party is happening and the phone number of an adult there.
They have location tracking on their phones and we've talked about drugs openly.
"Mom, can I go to a bush party on an island down by the river tomorrow night?" is an actual question my 17-year old asked me not long ago.
My stomach lurched at the thought of a bunch of teenagers partying beside a fast moving river in the dark. Every mothering instinct in me wanted to scream, "Are you SERIOUS??"
I've officially entered a new era of parenting — the high school party era. With a newly minted 16-year-old and an almost 18-year-old itching to spread their wings, this mama bird is panicking and having a hard time letting go.
It's not that I don't want them to have fun and be with their friends and do regular teenager things — because I do. It's also not because I am a helicopter parent who has to know every detail about everything they are doing at all times. And certainly not because I was once a 16-year-old who went to parties and who, in hindsight, did some pretty stupid things and I'd like to spare them this hindsight.
When I was a teenager, no one was recording all the dumb things I did and posting it online for all to see. Sure, mistakes were talked about at school on Monday, but like a political news cycle, they only had enough staying power until someone else did something equally or more stupid. Our teenage decisions didn't live on the internet forever, or get screenshot and shared with everyone on your Snapchat or Instagram account.
We find a compromise
I miss the days when I knew most of my kids' friends and their parents and we all looked out for each other's offspring. Dropping my kids off at birthday parties or other peoples' homes was a lot easier 10 years ago.
Now they're in a high school with over 2,500 other kids and making a lot of new friends — friends who don't live in our neighborhood and whose parents I will likely never meet. I will totally admit that part of my fears stem from no longer being able to control who they are hanging out with or know that a trusted adult is with them.
But just because they are beyond my command, doesn't mean we can't find a compromise that both soothes my parenting worries and provides my teens with some safety parameters as we move further along this road of individuation and growing up.
As such, we've come up with some basic rules around going to parties. Some might think these rules are too strict, but it's where we've landed as a family, and so far, they are working.
We have 4 rules for when they go out to party
Rule number one is that we must have the address and a phone number for a parent at the party. Rule number two is that they have to always keep their location on and share it with us on their devices. Rule number three, one we just added, is that we need the contact info of whoever they believe is their most responsible friend. This last rule exists because there have been times when I've had to reach one of my teens and their phones have either run out of juice or the ringer has been turned off (at which point I've had to use the the Find My Phone app to PING their devices).
We've had the drug talk with our kids and for the most part, I trust them to make good decisions around this issue. I also know how peer pressure works and have read too many news stories about teenagers overdosing at parties. Our last rule is that they both must learn how to administer Naloxone/Narcan and have a kit on them when going to larger parties.
In the end, I did let my son go to the island party. The compromise we decided on for that particular party was me driving him to the trailhead to meet up with his friends and then they walked to the party together. One of the other moms picked them up when they were done and everyone was home, safe and sound, well before curfew.
And yes, I did track his phone all night long — my teens might be ready for giant leaps, but this mama bear is still working on baby steps.
