#Adderall Trends Soar During Finals

Hello, finals! As college students across the country are settling in for a long week of stress, assignments, and tears, they are being greeted with a recurring hashtag on their Twitter newsfeeds: #Adderall, a prescription stimulant notorious for its ability to increase concentration and alertness while delaying the need for sleep.
 

Adderall, only one of a variety of “academic steroids,” has a long history with the college scene. As many as 20% of college students have self-reported Adderall abuse for academic purposes throughout the years, but growing research indicates that the rates of misuse are growing. One recent study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research last month, took the examination of college students and illicit prescription stimulant use to a whole new level: the Internet. The research team, headed by Professor Carl Hanson of Brigham Young University, actually analyzed Twitter posts from November 2011 to May 2012 that contained the keyword “Adderall.” #Adderall, needless to say, was trending. 
 

The results of the study were astounding. Over 130,000 unique Twitter users tweeted about Adderall use — when factored out, that’s an average of 930 Adderall tweets per day. Though the research did not differentiate between licit and illicit use of the stimulant, tweets mentioning Adderall spiked during the traditional finals periods, with peaks on December 13 (2,813 mentions) and April 30 (2,207 mentions). Tweets about Adderall typically peaked on Wednesdays, declining by the weekends. These trends are consistent with previous research that suggests that students are primarily using the stimulants for academic purposes — for example, to stay up late to study longer, write a paper, or just do plain old homework.

“It’s not like they’re using it as a party drug on the weekend,” Hanson explains. “This data suggests that they’re using it as a study aid.” 

Hanson and his research team hope to use the present data to educate the student population about the risks associated with illicit Adderall use, but the statistics are not in their favor. Neither, apparently, are the students themselves. The tweets say it all: to college students, Adderall works.

 

 

Scientifically, however, the jury is still out on the effectiveness of Adderall at increasing cognitive performance. Though alertness and ability to concentrate increases with use, it is debatable if performance on complex tasks is actually elevated.

Similarly, college students do not seem to understand the legal ramifications of prescription stimulant abuse. Illicit possession, sale, or use of Adderall carries as heavy a legal charge as does the possession of cocaine, both of which are crimes that can land unsuspecting and mislead students in jail.

With these facts in mind, remember — the stress of academic pressure may feel intense, but the risks of illicit drug use far outweigh the potential benefits. Rather than abuse Adderall and effectively cheat both the system and yourself, take study breaks. Plan your finals out in advance.

Remember to breathe. And get excited — it’s almost summer!