Music's Impact on Violence

Music's Impact on Violence

On April 20, 1999, two teenagers killed 12 of their peers, a teacher, and themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. In Springfield, Oregon, Kip Kinkel murdered his parents and two students. In Edinboro, Pennsylvania, Andrew Wurst killed a teacher at an eighth-grade dance. Also in Pearl, Mississippi, Luke Woodham, murdered his parents and a classmate (Jipping 1). What do all of these events have in common? The facts of these and other instances of youth violence parallel the music these boys consumed. Colorado Governor Bill Owens, warned the nation in a radio address shortly after these events stating that, "there is a virus loose within our culture (Jipping 1)." Some popular music is part of this cultural virus that can help lead some young people to violence. In order to prevent these violent outbreaks, the music industry should be regulated more for its content releases to the public and parents should also have more control over what there children are exposed to in the music industry.

Music is indeed an important aspect on many teenagers' everyday interactions. In a recent report titled "Media Use in America" its findings show that, "American teenagers listen to an estimated 10,500 hours of rock music between the 7th and 12th grades alone - just 500 hours less than they spend in school over

twelve years (8)." This means that on average, American youth listen to music and watch music videos four to five hours a day, which is more time than they spend with their friends outside of school or spend watching regular television shows. Also, a survey given to three college students showed that two out of three students listened to music one to two hours a day, while the other student listened over four hours a day (survey). "Music matters to adolescents, and they cannot be understood without a serious consideration of how it fits into their lives," says Professor Peter Christenson of Lewis & Clark College (Christen and Roberts, 1).

With music being a major portion of teenagers' lives, does music influence teens to act in sex, drugs, and violence? Music can alter and intensify teenagers' moods, furnish much of their slang, and dominate the setting of their social gatherings. Music styles define the crowds and cliques they run in. Teenagers use music most to control their mood and enhance emotional states (Christen and Roberts, 1).