TOW #1

Smarter Kids are Smart Enough to Avoid Alcohol and Drugs Right? 

by Maia Szalavitz TIME Magazine

Szalavitz suggests in this article that maybe not. In fact, She implies rather the opposite. Focusing on a study conducted in Finland which followed pairs of twins through their lives is where she begins. The study's findings support the argument that the earlier kids develop language and intellectual skills the more likely they are to drink or try drugs than less intelligent peers. Maia Szalavitz is a neuroscience journalist and is described as TIME Magazine as obsessed with addiction, love, evidence-based living, empathy and pretty much everything related to brain and behavior. Szalavitz has been awarded the American Psychological Associations Division 50 Award for Contributions to the Addictions and the Media Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. The context of this piece is protocol to the format in which most magazines write it's works, segmented into short paragraphs. Szalavitz also uses quotes or thought provoking sentences as their own segments to introduce the next separated paragraph. The purpose is of course to show that the risk of substance use is not the two dimensional smart or dumb choice often presented by society. Rather, a risk that is very real for people at all levels of intelligence. The audience is definitely parents and families, being as it is under the family/health section of TIME's website. This also shows that the purpose is a warning to parent's of intelligent children. While the article says that smarter kids are more likely to try drugs or be social drinkers it was not found in the study that any became addicted. It is not a matter of higher intellect equates a higher chance of addiction, instead a higher chance of experimentation. The voice of this text reads as a not mother or concerned citizen but purely of a sociology researching journalist. In my opinion the purpose of warning and informing the greater public of the fact that a higher intellect leads to a higher chance of experimentation is achieved. This is my opinion due to the amount of evidence presented such as the twin study and numerous statistics supporting this.