Adderall on College Campuses

      Adderall use on college campuses has been an issue in the United States for over 20 years. Adderall is a stimulant that is used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Although Adderall requires a prescription from a physician, many college students buy the drug from peers who have a prescription. However, like any other drug, one should not take Adderall without a prescription. The drug has side effects that one should discuss with a physician before taking the medication. Most students use Adderall to help them stay focused in their studies, which is why Adderall is sometimes referred to as the “study drug.” Some students also use Adderall to keep them more alert while drinking.

      Numerous compositions, including an article, an infographic, a video, and a tweet depict different aspects of the use of Adderall on college campuses. A New York Times article titled “The Adderall Generation” and a YouTube video titled “My Adderall Addiction” both feature personal stories of overcoming Adderall addiction that began in college. A Pinterest infographic gives various facts and statistics about Adderall abuse among college students in the United States. Some college students post on social media about using Adderall, such as a tweet by @GreatWhiteHype7 about writing a paper after taking Adderall.

      Various genre conventions are evident in these compositions. The New York Times article and the YouTube video contain conventions of the narrative genre, including character, plot, setting, and conflict. Numerous compositions of this theme show the seriousness of Adderall abuse and addiction. The New York Times article, YouTube video, and Pinterest infographic compositions show how significant Adderall abuse is in the United States. On the other hand, the tweet makes the abuse of the drug seem unimportant.

      The New York Times article by Casey Schwartz titled “The Adderall Generation” uses a text-based mode. The medium of this narrative composition is digital, and the article is available online through the New York Times’ website. The audience for this composition is young adults and college students. Schwartz wants to show college students that Adderall abuse is serious and should not be taken lightly. The author starts off broad by talking about Adderall in general, then she focuses in on her personal story. She uses vivid examples and language to tell her experience with the drug. A line from the article that shows her extreme detail is “what I now thought of as myself, which is to say, the steely, undistractable person whom I vastly preferred to the lazier, glitchier person I knew my actual self to be, the one who was subject to fits of lassitude and a tendency to eat too many Swedish Fish.”

      Schwartz shows the positive, appealing parts of Adderall, such as being able to study more and being more productive. In contrast, she also shows the less appealing aspects of this drug, such as having a shorter temper and “snapping” at her friends. Schwartz points out that she did not resolve her addiction alone. This shows the reader that people need others around them encouraging them to get through hard times. By using her personal story, she is employing ethos. Overcoming an Adderall addiction gives the composer credibility. If someone tells a college student not to abuse Adderall, he/she might listen. However, someone telling her personal story of addiction may make people pay attention more.

      This article shows plot, conflict, setting, and character, which are all conventions of the narrative genre. The main character of the composition is Casey Schwartz, the author. The setting of this composition is at Brown University when Schwartz was in college. The author shows the progression of her Adderall abuse from the beginning to the end, which is the plot of this composition. The main conflict of the composition is the author’s struggle with her Adderall addiction. One convention of people telling a personal story about Adderall addiction is talking about coming to terms with the drug abuse. This author writes about how she overcame her addiction. Also, she makes sure that people know that Adderall abuse is a serious issue. She gives statistics of the number of people prescribed Adderall, which shows how common the drug is in the United States.

      The Pinterest infographic on Adderall abuse is multimodal, using both text and visual modes. The medium is digital, and the graphic can be accessed on Pinterest on any digital device. This informative graphic has three sections: examining the problem, negative health effects, and finding treatment. The three sections in this graphic make it easier for the reader to interpret the information presented. The graphic shows statistics of Adderall abuse by college students, such as 89.5% of students who use Adderall also engage in binge drinking. This shows that Adderall may lead to other risky behaviors. As well, the graphic gives some negative health effects of taking Adderall, such as a lack of appetite and nausea. The three sections in this graphic make it easier for the reader to interpret the information presented.

      The graphic shows ways to get treatments for Adderall addiction, making target audience college students. The treatment options are featured in the outline of a Polaroid photograph. Polaroid cameras have become more popular with young people, so this design makes the graphic more relatable to a young audience. This infographic uses logos to show that logically, people should not abuse Adderall because it is dangerous. All of the negative side effects of Adderall make it seem logical not to abuse the drug. The graphic uses a serious tone toward the subject of Adderall abuse.

      This infographic employs various conventions of the informative genre. This composition uses statistics and facts that make logical sense, which establishes ethos and logos. One can find the information in the graphic through other sources, which increases its credibility. Unlike some informative compositions, this graphic does not try to bait people in with false information. This graphic also shows that Adderall abuse is serious, which is a convention of the compositions of this theme. By showing the negative side effects of the drug, this composition shows the dangers of Adderall addiction.

      The YouTube video “My Adderall Addiction” features a YouTube blogger named Alyse, whose channel is called “Raw Alignment.” This composition employs a narrative genre but also informs the audience. The mode of this video is visual and audio, as the viewer can see Alyse and hear her speaking. This composition’s medium is digital, and one can access the video through YouTube on any digital device. The composer talks about her addiction starting in college, which could be relatable to some college students. Alyse starts out by claiming that she is telling her personal experience and that everyone’s experience with Adderall is different. She uses this to establish ethos because even though she is knowledgeable about the subject, she does not know everything.

      After this introduction, Alyse tells her personal story of Adderall addiction. She says that she wants to shed light on the abuse of Adderall in the United States, especially among young people. She started taking Adderall because her boyfriend had a prescription for it, and she was addicted within a day of taking her first pill. She uses examples to show the negative aspects of taking Adderall. For example, she had trouble falling asleep and felt like she never had any down time. By progressing through her addiction in the video, she shows how easily one can become addicted to Adderall and how difficult it is to break that addiction. She uses pathos to appeal to her audience emotionally. She started taking Adderall because she wanted to suppress her appetite, which may be emotionally relatable to college students because body image issues can be very prevalent in college.

      This video uses conventions of the narrative genre, including plot, conflict, setting, and character. The main character is Alyse (the composer), and the setting is her college campus. This composition’s plot goes through Alyse’s Adderall addiction and how she eventually overcame it, which was the main conflict. Like the author of the New York Times article, the composer of this video talks about overcoming her addiction. Similar to the previous two compositions, this video shows the seriousness of the issue of Adderall abuse.

      A tweet by @GreatWhiteHype7 reads, “Just wrote a 4200 paper in 2.5 hrs #AdderallHadMeLike.” The genre of this composition is narrative, and the mode is text-based. The tweet’s medium is digital, and one can access the composition through Twitter on a digital device. The audience for this composition is this composer’s 630 Twitter followers. However, the composer’s Twitter account is public, so anyone can view this tweet. This composition is short, containing only eight words and a hashtag with four words. The brevity of the composition helps the author get his point across quickly and concisely. The purpose of this Tweet is to show how Adderall can help one study, which is positive in the composer’s opinion. This tweet also features an emoji, which makes it seem like Adderall use without a prescription is harmless. The composer uses logos to make it seem like taking Adderall is the logical way to finish a paper in a short time period.

      This tweet shows conventions of the narrative genre, including conflict and plot. For example, the plot of the composition is the student took Adderall and wrote a paper. Unlike the other compositions, this composition makes it seem like Adderall abuse is acceptable. This tweet shows a positive outlook on taking Adderall to help with college classes. This composition does not show the negative side effects of Adderall, while the other three compositions show the consequences of taking Adderall.

      Many people do not think Adderall abuse on college campuses is a problem. However, it is a major issue. Numerous college students abuse Adderall and take the drug without a prescription. These students may not know that they are abusing or addicted to this drug. College students need to be more aware of the physical, mental, and legal repercussions of taking Adderall without a prescription. People need to understand that Adderall is a drug and should only be used with a prescription from a doctor. Social media should be used as a way to bring awareness to the issue of Adderall abuse and not to make the abuse seem acceptable. For example, some Twitter accounts, such as @AdderallSupport, bring awareness to this issue. If more people tell their personal stories of addiction to Adderall, others will become more informed about the seriousness of this issue.