When my favourite character is a user: depiction of medication and drug use in the webseries Skins
In the lifestyles of teenagers and young adults, the viewing of movies, TV soaps and web series is an important activity. These productions present characters and scripts which illustrate the various problems these populations are facing, among which the consumption of drugs and medicines. To describe the models represented, two seasons of the popular web series Skins produced in Great Britain and a big success in many countries, were analysed using a content analysis based on quantitative and qualitative methodology. The results indicate that the question of illegal and medical drugs is an important topic, with cannabis as the drug most often represented and used by both male and female characters, followed by ecstasy. If the depiction of hard drugs is rare, non-medical use of prescription drugs is well illustrated, in particular with antidepressants and treatments or erectile dysfunction. The web series stage the phases of access to substances, their preparation, their consumption and even their resale, topics treated in a peripheral way in the TV productions of the 1990s. The states of consciousness, from light effects to extreme and dangerous ones are represented, illustrating the variety of contexts and the collective and individual functions of drug use. These substances are not generally the object of a negative evaluation within the story-line, insistance being put rather on their everyday acceptance and their integration in the everyday life of young people, without great risks for the health. It remains important to document the reception of this web series in various national contexts and to understand its influence on the standards of consumption of illegal substances and prescription drugs by adolescents.