In terms of drug use, generational forgetting refers to: the inability of drug knowledge to pass from one generation to another. the failure of teens to believe the things that their parents tell them. the idea that each new generation forgets what the previous generation learned about drugs. the tendency of knowledge to skip a generation.

It refers to the "idea that each new generation forgets what the previous generation learned about drugs".

A consistent cycle of new medications and drugs creeps onto the scene while others make a rebound, similar to neon hues or thin pants. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) calls this as "generational forgetting," a societal condition where the learning of specific medications' antagonistic results blurs among youth as generational substitution takes place.