Social media and intoxication: ‘Tweaker nation’: Celebrating drug use on tumblr

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Abstract

Breaking Bad was an internationally acclaimed TV series about the methamphetamine industry. In 2018, a Tumblr microblog author used the show as the inspiration for an online discussion on the pleasures of using the drug. This chapter explains how the decision to speak of taboo pleasures on Tumblr reflects a history of thought on drug use as a cultural practice. Sociology taught us that drug pleasures are learned through the knowledge users share through their networks. Media studies taught us that popular culture has long been tacitly sympathetic to drug use, because of its affection for excessive consumption. Displays of excessive intoxication are de rigueur, when it comes to alcohol. Add in the anonymity that Tumblr offers, and it is far from surprising that the platform has become the place where drug users express ideas that are prohibited elsewhere.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCultures of Intoxication
Subtitle of host publicationKey Issues and Debates
EditorsFiona Hutton
Place of PublicationCham Switzerland
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Chapter12
Pages263-282
Number of pages20
ISBN (Electronic)9783030352844
ISBN (Print)9783030352837
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

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