Music: Can It Really Do Harm?
I ) Why are some songs so popular? What makes them popular? But also what makes them negative in the lives of kids and teens? Well let’s get some of this sorted out then. Studies show that kids and teens who listen to music such as rap, metal, some rock and pop, or hip hop, etc. that have risky or bad lyrics show to have behavioral issues and have problems in school.
Music is an important part in any kid, teen and young adults life. It can help them through hard times or just keep them happy. It also can show how they feel. Music is helpful in so many ways but, unfortunately it is also very harmful too. Most try to ignore that but they can’t and shouldn’t.
II ) Music Lyrics Effects:
A ) What music lyrics say today:
In Robert Palmer's article “What pop lyrics say to us today”, he explains that music has been much the same for many years.
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To do this, he starts by showing songs from many artists like the Beatles and others. He shows lyrics and talks about how songs then and now talk about love, sex, and drugs and other things. The article goes on to prove that some songs are not that great to listen to. In the end the article asserts that some songs have bad lyrics and hardly anyone cares. He talks about how music lyrics have changed in ways and stayed the same too. Most songs since music has been around are love songs. That hasn’t changed even today. But just like back in the 60s-80s or so some lyrics are about drinking, partying, drugs, sex, and more. We still in the year 2016 have songs with lyrics about that stuff and now more than ever, we are seeing it affect teens, kids, and young adults. Many teens have started doing drugs, having sex, drinking, and it probably is from listening to songs like this. But it also can be blamed on other world things but music does have a big impact on teens, we listen to it constantly and sometimes the lyrics are not very good but some of us ignore it and just listen to the beat and we should also focus on the lyrics of the song. B ) What happens when we ignore the lyrics and love the beat: In John Rockwell’s article “Music may come first, but words are important, too” he explains that “two women, one a sociologist and the other in the field of criminal justice attempt to show that teen-agers don't pay much attention to the words of rock songs, and hence that the campaign of the far right to censor rock lyrics is absurd. If no one pays much attention to rock texts, then how can they be harmful?”. To do this, he starts by showing that “in a study done by the two woman, said that less than 3% out of 300 people ages 12-18,actually paid strict attention to the lyrics of the songs they listened to”. The article goes on to prove that most teens do not really pay attention to the lyrics of songs and they just listen to the beat. In the end the article asserts that many teens ignores the lyrics and only listen to the beat and don’t really care even if it’s a bad song. III ) What Behavior Music Lyrics Can Cause: A ) Behaviors Teens Might Do and Be Driven To Do: In Council on Communications and Media’s article “Impact of Music, Music Lyrics, and Music Videos on Children and Youth”, they explain that music can affect kids and teens with the lyrics, music, and videos. To do this, they start by showing that “Lyrics have become more explicit in their references to drugs, sex, and violence over the years. A content analysis of the top 10 CDs performed by the National Institute on Media in 1999 revealed that each of these CDs included at least 1 song with sexual content. Forty-two percent of the songs on these CDs contained very explicit sexual content. Lyrics of some music genres, such as rock, heavy metal, rap, and new emerging genres such as reggaeton, have been found to revolve around topics such as sexual promiscuity, death, homicide, suicide, and substance abuse. Most recently, some rap music has been characterized by the presence of explicit sexual language in its lyrics as well as messages of violence, racism, homophobia, and hatred toward women. Drug, tobacco, and alcohol use also tend to be glorified in these songs.”. The article goes on to prove that “In a study in which adolescents who preferred heavy metal and rap music were compared with those who preferred other types of music, results indicated that the former consistently showed below-average current and elementary school grades, with a history of counseling in elementary school for academic problems. A study performed in 1999 with a sample of 345 mothers from public schools revealed that 47% of the mothers believed that violent messages in rap music contribute to school violence; yet, according to a 2007 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation on parents, children, and the media, only 9% of parents revealed being concerned about inappropriate content in music.”. In the end the article asserts that “After controlling for all the covariates, greater exposure to rap music videos was independently associated with a wide variety of risky behaviors such as increased promiscuity and use of drugs and alcohol, among others.” Proving that music and it’s lyrics and videos affect kids, teens and young adults in ways of their behavior and actions. B ) How Lyrics Are Bad: In Kevin Draper’s article, ”Why I'm not down with rap” he argues that rap and mainstream music sucks and teens get influenced by it and it has bad lyrics. To do this, he starts by showing different radio stations and what they play, he then talks about some good band and bad bands and compares them. The article goes on to prove that some music now is way worse than music from the 50s, 60s. 70s, or 80s, and only some 90s. In the end the article asserts that a lot of the lyrics from artist like 50 cent have terrible lyrics about awful and unimportant things and artists like Nirvana have great meaningful lyrics. Now days the radio only plays mainstream stuff that everyone knows about. It plays rap, pop, hip-hop, etc. In the article he compares lyrics different artists and shows how some artists and their songs are better in lyric content and meaning and how they are better for teens and kids to listen to. C ) How Music Will Influence Behavior: In Kevin C.
Liljequist’s article "Does Music and Lyrical Content Influence Human Behavior?", he explains that “over the last four decades music and lyrical content have became more explicit with references to drugs, sex, and violence.” To do this, he starts by showing “Today's music and lyrical content have undergone dramatic changes since the introduction of rock and roll more than forty years ago. These changes have become an issue of vital interest and concern for society in general. During the past four decades, music and lyrical content have become increasingly explicit with references to sex, drugs, and violence. The anti-social themes common in popular music have compelled some adults to rally against it, especially heavy metal and rap. If parents in the fifties didn't like Elvis' gyrating hips, those same people would be astounded at how rapidly we've reached the "anything goes" mentality. With the advent of MTV and VH-1, not only do we get to listen to violent lyrics, but we also get to see it acted out in full color. Historically, there has been a distrust of youth oriented
music.”. The article goes on to prove that lyrics have a big impact on everyone “My concern is with those songs that glorify violence, racism, murder, mayhem, and condone the abuse of women. I am not emphasizing any type of censorship, but I am emphasizing some type of responsibility or citizenship. Music is important to this culture and it's identity. Music helps define social and subcultural boundaries.Today's culture face far more difficulties and dangers than their counterparts did just a generation ago. Over the last thirty years, violent juvenile crime has jumped by more that five hundred percent. Teen suicide has tripled. Unwed teen pregnancy has skyrocketed. Casual drug use among teens has jumped nearly fifty percent over the last four years alone. A wide majority of adults surveyed in a 1997 report from Public Agenda, "Kids these days: What Americans really think about the next generation," decried sex and violence in the media as threatening. to the well being of young people.”. In the end the article asserts that “I believe music lyrics have an impact when illustrated in music videos. According to content analysis, up to seventy-five percent of concept music videos contain sexually suggestive material. Since teenagers spend four to five hours a day listening to or watching music videos, I believe that music will in some way influence them. Many teens already copy fashion styles that they see on their favorite music artist. For some teenagers, music is just music, but for others it is a way to enhance their mood that they are already in, which can lead to negative results. Kids should be aware of the negative effects that music can bring, as well as the positive effects. Parents should have insight on what their kids are listening to and why they choose to listen to a particular type of music. The music video industry should be encouraged to produce videos and public service messages with positive themes about relationships, racial harmony, drug avoidance, nonviolence, sexual abstinence, pregnancy prevention, and avoidance of sexually transmitted diseases. Performers should be encouraged to serve as positive role models for children and teenagers. Although music usually does not directly cause violence, it encourages its audience through suggestive lyrics and images.”. IIII ) What Does The Opposing Side Say: A ) Music Is Harmless: Many people oppose the fact that some music is bad for kids and teens. They say music is harmless, sure it is, if you don’t act on what they suggest you do in the songs. Unfortunately this is never the case and parents and teens ignore the facts, when they should listen to them. The opposing side says just because kids and teens listen to music with sex, drugs, drinking and more doesn’t mean they will do it. Though what they don’t know is that they could and might, not all teens and kids do but quite a few do and parents, kids, and teens need to realize some types of music can do damage and ruin young lives if they follow what the songs suggest. B ) Why Should It Matter What Music Kids and Teens Listen To: Everyone asks why should it matter what I or teens or kids listen to? Here is why, in so many studies kids and teens who listen to rap, pop, rock etc. With song about sex, drugs, drinking, etc. do these things and it then affects their lives. They struggle in school and have behavioral problem. They give into the pressure of what the song suggest and decide they are more important than their schooling or jobs or friends. This is why it matters music has a huge impact on kids and teens and young adults so big it sometimes influences their lives, good or bad. IIIII ) In Conclusion: Let's review some things we have gone over in this paper. Studies show that kids and teens who listen to music such as rap, metal, some rock and pop, or hip hop, etc. that have risky or bad lyrics show to have behavioral issues and have problems in school. Music good or bad all has an effect on kids, teens and young adults lives. They and their parents need to make sure it is making a good impact on their lives. If they don’t and listen to bad stuff they will likely turn to drugs, drinking, having sex and more. Music is powerful, let's just keep it good, for everyone's lives.
Teenagers have for long been a constant bother to many parents, for many years. It is during this stage that a large number of individuals engage in rebellious acts and are anxious to try out almost everything they lay their hands on. It is clear from the illustrations that music does have a great effect on teenagers. Parents should therefore combine effort in instilling a sense of responsibility and good morals to their young ones since they are the future leaders of the world.
The main argument which critics use to show why the radio should be censored is because listening to explicit lyrics is linked to aggressive thoughts. This argument has some truth because studies have linked them, but the conditions of these studies also favors an increase of aggressive thoughts. Most of the studies show teenage boys who already having more aggressive thoughts because they are developing, playing more violent games, and being exposed more to the real world. These studies are also biased because most teenagers who listen to explicit music are being influenced by their parents more than the lyrics. As stated in an article debating radio censorship, “Parents still have a bigger influence over their kids’ behavior than music does” (Kiplinger). Parents who are aggressive tend to pass the trait to their kids whom tend to listen to explicit lyrics because of their previous exposure to violence and harsh
Music can be reflection of our life experience. Each genre of music invokes different emotions and reactions in it's listeners. Rap has become a very popular genre in today's society. Is today “Gangster rap” and rappers exploiting society, introducing drugs and instigating violence? In the mid-1980s Gangster rap came to be portray images of violence, guns, gangs, drugs, and sexism. By the 1990s rap music became a major part of the industry and topped the charts. As people begin to operate different things; different music was engendered and that contributed to the variety of music that we have today. This is one of the many things that makes America different but is astringently under looked by everyone. There are many types of different raps
...or what it is - entertainment, and not be taken so seriously as people try to make it. Music, be it rap, alternative, country, or bubble gum pop, is merely another form of expression. If you don't like what you hear, don't want your children exposed to it, or are offended by it, just turn it off. Thousands of people have attended concerts by the most hated artists in America. Millions watch Marilyn Manson prance about in music videos. Yet, the general majority of the population is not inspired to murder innocent people. Teens that are depressed, troubled, or rejected and taunted by their peers need to get help before they let their warped sense of fantasy and reality mix too far. Don't deprive more mature listeners all because it's something that frightens you. Music may be a huge influence, but it cannot be blamed for all of society's problems.
Often times throughout history and in today’s world, music along with lyrics of songs and musical artists are blamed for deviant behavior in adolescents and teenagers. Some argue that subcultures are created because of artists and their music which leads to groups of young adults taking part in deviant behavior, while others argue the opposite; that the behavior leads the person to listen to the music. There is also concern about the effect that music videos have on the behaviors of the listeners of music throughout all genres. Although there is not much extended research on music and the effect it has on its listeners there is plenty of speculation, theories, and minor studies.
It is surprising that music can have such an impact on American society today. The truth is that rap and hip-hop music not only affects teenagers and children that commit violence, but also affects those victims who suffer from the violent acts, Violence and Misogyny is a very serious problem that Americans face today and in order to create peace in our city streets, we must set guidelines to what our children should or should not hear.
In today’s culture where rap music has become increasingly popular, many teens aren’t realizing what they are listening to. A lot of teens would argue that the music they listen to has no effect on them, but they are wrong. Rap music, especially, has had a major impact on teenagers in today’s society. The lyrics of many rap songs encourage violent and aggressive thoughts in teenagers.
Imagine our youth all over the country being exposed to this explicit kind of language. There is no need to imagine, because it is already happening. Ever since the rise of Rap and Hip Hop music, teens have been turning to them to help solve their problems. However these kinds of music can be very destructive to teens. It is not the youth’s fault; it is the content that the music contains. Although Rap and Hip Hop music can be a force for good, they can also have an extremely negative impact on the attitudes and behaviors of our youth.
Teens and the human populous have been draw to music, and the relief it gives off. As recent as the 1990’s, we’ve seen an increase in explicit and violent lyrics and deviant behavior in the music industry surrounding such genres as heavy metal, rock, rap, and gangster rap. During this past decade, lyrics are becoming more violent and sexually explicit. It is approximated that teens listen to an average of 40 hours of music a week, and somewhere along the way, a child will hear something derogatory, or cruel. Along with this, teens don’t necessarily interpret what is said through lyrics in the right manner. In one study, only 30% of those somewhat questionable lyrics by popular bands were comprehended by the teen population.
The teenage mind revolves around music. Music is something highly appreciated by teens. Music can be used at parties, hangouts, study sessions, or when one just needs time to chill out. But along with it’s benefits, music can also be detrimental to a teens mental health. “Under the Influence of Music” by Tara Parker and “Why Teens Need Their Music” by Rebecca Laclair are two articles explaining both the positive and negative effects music has on teens. Although the two articles are about the effects of music on teens, they are vastly different.
Music has been part of many different cultures throughout each decade, existing as a way of communicating through rhythm and instruments. Artists have been continually admired and recognized as they appeal to the youth of each changing generation. Unfortunately, the messages that are being sent, both consciously and unconsciously, are not always steering teenagers in the right direction. The music industry often focuses on what sells rather than what is morally correct, which negatively impacts impressionable audiences. Sadly, listeners are more concerned with the idea of “fitting in” to the point where they begin to abandon their morals in order to achieve the acceptance they so greatly desire. Music, a dominant aspect
...gs that are just highly mentioned which makes adolescents think its alright. Compare it to a parent telling their child what is right and what is wrong, the more they are told something the more they would listen. In rap music they constantly hear about drugs so they are most likely to try it or go down the wrong path.
Music has incredible effects on the brain and body! Ever since the beginning of time, music has been around. It can influence the way a person thinks and behaves, and also social interactions. Teens are more susceptible to this (Revatto 1). Music can be used in therapy by helping people with depression, and can even be a more natural way to heal the body (“How Music...” 1). In some cases, songs and melodies can help or make diseases worse. Music is a powerful thing and can affect your brain and many other things in your body in numerous ways.
Music has a bad impact on people life and should be eliminated. The text, Social studies feature, page 97, paragraph 4 says “ Critics-- and parents-- were concerned that music was detrimental to its young fans.” This shows that harmful music to minors can have a bad life-time experience on their lives. Also Social studies feature, paragraph 6 states that Americans and government officials was shocked to find out the lyrics that minors and
Popular music is readily available everywhere, such as on the radio, the media, and online. Artists often make use of their creativity by adding in some unique and creative lyrics that contain words that we haven’t heard often or even before. As a result, popular music affects our everyday speech; certain words and phrases from its lyrics integrating themselves into our language. Bryson says that some of the ways we adopt and make up new words is by “adding to them, by subtracting from them, by making them up, and by doing nothing to them” (811) as well as by “borrowing them from other languages and creating them by mistake” (811). Popular music follows the same pathway that Bryson presented into our ears and out of our mouths. Popular music