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Youth

Welcome to the MDAAT Web-site for young people. You can find advice, information and news targeted at young people, teenagers and children.

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Websites for Young People: a Fresh Look

Local student Shianne Brown was with DrugScope on a work placement 25 June - 6 July. As well as gaining an overview of working life in a third sector organisation, Shianne has been looking at web resources aimed at young people. Taking Jackie Buckle's March post as her starting point, in this week's blog article, Shianne shares her perspective, as a 15-year-old Londoner, on drug information sites aimed at teenagers.

In her short two weeks at DrugScope, Shianne has put together some useful resources for us, including her blog article on young people's websites and some bookmark sets from our reading lists.

[[D-World]] The D-World website has a suitable theme as it is aimed at young children and teenagers. The website has a certain appeal that makes the audience more interested in what the website has to show. D-World makes sure that the explanations of the drugs are clear and manageable to read. At the age I am now I find the site both appealing and appropriate for its target audience.
The games which are included are handy, however, changes could take place such as the ‘What Am I ?' game. The clues for the type drugs are easy and maybe it would be good to try and make the clues more challenging, on the other hand you may have to consider that D-World is aiming also at 9 year olds.This site differs enormously from the adult site as it has a more laid back approach whereas with the adult site there is a lot of writing and factual information which has more relevance to them.

[[LifeBytes]] The things that most attracts me to the Lifebytes website is its colours and the lay out. The fact that the website has a more broad approach by dealing with problems not only with drugs but also with sex, health conditions, smoking and many more. This would be a great deal of help towards the younger generation as there are many problems facing them in everyday life. I found that the dictionary on the website was useful as there will be many words which I have not seen before or uncertain about.
This website is not one of those website in which you would feel uncomfortable if your parents walked in, it does not contain any inappropriate words or pictures which many would find unpleasing.
When googled the website came up as the first heading which is useful as people will recognise it as a successful and popular website.

[[Talk To Frank]] This website is useful for the younger generation however I would feel many people would feel uncomfortable if their parents saw them on this website as they may initially think that they are experimenting with drugs.
The Frank website answers all the question I have ever wondered about drugs as it gives you an insight into the world of drugs and the tough circumstances of taking them. The website uses postcards which highlight a sense of sarcasm but gets to the point of how drugs can ruin and changes lives dramatically. The Frank website is highly popular because when you have ran it through Google the first page is full of pages from the site.

[[The Site]] The site website provided a variety of issues for young people especially in college or university, it offers support and advice which is appealing for the person reading it. However the developers may improve the site by focusing a little bit on the older people in year 11 about college courses instead of just university students. The site did answer my questions related to drugs, nevertheless, it doesn't give a lot of information about drugs like previous websites did such as Frank and LifeBytes. When googled the site comes up as the first found search which is pleasing as it is a well-known website.

[[Wotz Da Factz]] I found Wotz Da Factz website a bit basic as it did not have any pictures which relates to the text. I also found the website more suitable for the parents than children. I personally did not take to the idea of the website, and its approach. However, I would think that the parents of the children will find the website more useful, as it contains a lot of relevant and factual information which they can discuss with their children.

[[Talk4Teens]] Talk4Teens was the website in which I found most interesting when I saw the home page. The website contain a lot of other issues such as sex then it gives you a lot of other useful information such as STI's, the law and also contraception, the downside of this is that the website does not contain a lot of pictures. This version of the website has changed since last year, they have added a new sections that covers information about drugs.
The whole layout of the website instantly approaches teenagers by the colours used and the language used as it is not too formal and extraordinary words are not used. I am certain that if anybody saw me on this on this website they would not jump to conclusions and make up their own assumptions, that I was taking drugs it appears to be a website which is appropriate for my age group.

In conclusion all of the websites clearly show that the main social issue in the UK and all around the globe are to do with drugs, sex, depression etc. The majority of the websites successfully appeals to their target audience. As they approach the themes that they are trying to aim at children or teenagers. Many of the websites are appropriate for young children and teenagers to look at they do not show explicit images, which would alarm parents or carers. Overall the website all show success, they are appealing, appropriate and lastly contains a lot of information about the important topics.

Shianne Brown