Moderation is archaic in the year 2024.

And the dismissal of such a concept goes way beyond raging red or bombastic blue when it comes to politics.

Everywhere you look excess is celebrated.

TiKTok influencers.

The now old school Kardashians, et al.

The need to have the “smart” everything, even when it comes to the mundane such as toasters.

Even in places considered stoic such as the Wall Street Journal where the home section is dubbed “McMansion” with pages devoted to $400,000 walk-in closets, $60 million houses, and $20,000 refrigerators.

At the end of the day closets still are for storing clothes, houses are to live in, and refrigerators keep food from spoiling, and drinks cold.

But in the “we-want-it-all”, and “we-want-it-now”, and “we-want-to-be-dope” world created by those driven by the almighty dollar whether they are wolves on Wall Street, techies looking to disrupt others’ bank accounts, or 15 year-old influencers pulling down six figure incomes moderation just won’t do.

A lot  of people are looking for shortcuts or things that will give them the edge so they can be part of the alternative world — as compared to theirs —that is dangled in front of them.

It’s little wonder that educators in recent years have seen an uptick in caffeine-related issues among middle school and high school students.

It’s an age group that can get more amped up than adults when it comes to the excessive use of caffeine.

In schools, excess caffeine use has manifested in hyper or jittery behavior, students crashing coming off of caffeine, and — in the worst case scenarios — triggers seizures in otherwise healthy youth.

The seizures aren’t an everyday occurrence but it is more common than you may think.

Consider the experience of Terri Daniels.

She’s the principal of Folsom Middle School.

It’s a sixth through eighth grade public school in a city by the same name in eastern Sacramento County.

Daniels estimates roughly a quarter of her 1,500 students down energy drinks on a regular basis.

Over the past three years, two or three students on an annual basis experienced seizures at school. Daniels said a common thread is almost all instances the students mentioned they were drinking energy drinks earlier.

Educators and researchers indicate caffeine consumption can be linked to behavioral problems in the classroom as well as elevate anxiety and depression feelings.

Caffeine has been synonymous with growing up ever since Coca-Cola et al, sock hops, and drive-in burger joints were all the rage in the 1950s.

And to be sure, there is a lot of research out there that caffeine, when not used in excess and consumed a set time beforehand, can enhance performance to a degree and do so safely when exercising or competing.

Caffeine, by the way, is considered the most performance enhancing drug in the world. That’s why it was banned up until the 2004 Olympics although it is still monitored.

The pick-me-up aspect is in the same world as a morning cup of coffee.

However, given things such as body weight, age, and developing neurological systems and how far along internal organs have developed there are plenty of reasons for moderate caffeine use among youth.

It is why the American Academy of Pediatrics advocates teens consume no more than 100 milligrams of caffeine a day.

The Federal Drug Administration mandates no soda may have more than 68 mg of caffeine per 12 ounces.

And in terms of adult consumption of caffeine, the FDA recommends not exceeding 400 mg whether the caffeine comes from sodas, “supplements” in the form of energy boosting pills, coffee, energy drinks, chocolate candy, tea, or coffee ice cream, among other flavors.

The FDA, by the way, regulates caffeine in soda and such as they are classified as foods but not in energy drinks. Those popular pick-me-up packages of pills sold at convenience stores aren’t either. Both are considered nutritional supplements.

The popularity of energy drinks that are often laden with as much as triple the caffeine has been linked to 20,000 plus emergency room visits a year.

Sometimes they are part of a heart stressing combo of alcohol and/or drugs.

But more often excessive consumption of energy drinks is all it took to head to the ER.

Consider Prime, an energy drink made wildly popular among teens and pre-teens by the handiwork of social media influencers.

A 12-ounce can of Prime contains 200 mg of caffeine or three times the punch of a similar sized Pepsi.

It is not the sole reason why Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer started pushing last year for the FDA to regulate the caffeine in Prime and other energy drinks.

Even though labeling by Prime says it is not recommended for those under 18, social media influencers clearly hawk it at those 18 and under.

Jacqueline Rogers is a 17 year-old in Jefferson City in Missouri.

The Advanced Placement student and student council member was profiled recently in the Wall Street Journal about her use of caffeine.

She is a regular consumer of energy drinks. She pushed it up to four cans of Alani Nu during the day and four caffeine pills at night to stay up with her study and activity load when a big test or project was added to her daily schedule.

It equated to more than 1,000 mg of caffeine a day.

That’s more than 2½ times more than the FDA caffeine consumption recommended for as its not to exceed.

It is also the equivalent of 15 cans of 12 ounce Pepsi a day.

If a teen was downing  2½  six packs of Pepsi a day, parents would be all over it.

But a couple or so cans of energy drinks with some supplement energy pills you can buy at a convenience store, no alarms go off.

Drinking energy drinks like water can easily lead to headaches, races the heart, and can elevate blood pressure. And in some rare instances help trigger heart attacks.

That’s on top of anxiety, the jitters, and getting sleepy in class when the caffeine wears off.

As an added note, if you want to try and induce seizures in someone?

Torree McGowan — a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physician the works as an ER doctor in rural Oregon — knows one way.

Sleep deprive them.

Show them a bunch of flashing lights for hours at a time.

And give them plenty of caffeine,

Freely translated, that means let them stay up half the night, give them a smartphone they have their face buried in for hours upon hours each day scrolling through endless sites dominated by flashy videos, and swig plenty of energy drinks.

What could possibly go wrong?

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com