How Does Music Effect Today’s Youths?
August 5th, 2015
Thank you Yolanda Gibson for the suggestion.
I knew this would be a tall order to fill because of indirect correlation. Two things may be true but one doesn’t necessarily cause the other. An example would be that people wear bathing suits more often in the summer. People also eat more ice cream in the summer. That doesn’t mean that people eat ice cream because they’re wearing a bathing suit or that people wear bathing suits because they’re eating ice cream. A direct correlation could probably be made with the increase in temperature for both. So direct correlation is more cause and effect. i.e. This music made her get pregnant or that music made him commit murder. It’s really hard to say cause and effect.
We’ll get started with early youth. “Benefits of Music in Child Development” is not a research based article. It’s really warm and fuzzy; inspired much like youth itself. These are the “Mary had a Little Lamb” days. No-one would be able to deny their infants and toddlers the developmental emotional rewards that come with music training. Music training? As simple as singing or humming to your children and having them join in as time allots. “The Effect of Early Music Training on Child Cognitive Development” is research based and claims that musical training can enhance your child’s thinking ability. (for the research based articles you may want to skip to the conclusion portion unless your interested in the methodology or other aspects) “The Effect of Early Music Training on Child Cognitive Development” (2) is the same name; different article. It’s very short and from what I read it says early music training can actually add mass to the developing brain in the form of gray matter.
A child arrives at a slightly rebellious attitude and it’s ok for lyrics to degrade what was formally a flawless hero. (The Barney song) or ( jingle bells, Batman smells) I think my daughter did it to show her peers that she wasn’t a baby. So time progresses and the child’s taste in music becomes more sophisticated until they’re in their teens. These days are far from “Mary had a Little Lamb.
Sex and music: As of 2013 the teen pregnancy (15-19 years old) rate had declined over the previous 20 years. “Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing“. If one was to make a connection to music what would it be? Music seems to talk more and more about sex so wouldn’t the teen pregnancy rate increase do to this influence. I think we need to look at the bigger picture. While songs are tending to unabashedly make references to sex so is everyone else. Parents, teachers, and peers are speaking more directly about the woes of teenaged pregnancy and the danger of STD’s. With these undesirables being more speakable more condoms are being used. Lyrics today may challenge youths to think more about sex whether it be Katy Perry’s “menage a trois” or Tove Love’s “We f**k for life” or Kayne West’s “alien sex” back to Sinead O’connor’s “Put your hands on me” and George Michaels’s “I want your sex” it still demands thought. Today I think it’s a more thoughtful process in the spirit of songs like “Let’s talk about sex” from TLC.
Let’s get to violence. “Violent Music Lyrics Increase Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings, According to New Study” states there is a cause and effect relationship between music and the precursors to violent behavior. “Thoughts and Feelings” are key for me. It’s not behavior. Like song lyrics that fall short of behavior maybe the actions of the groups studied would fall short as well. “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me”. Still I believe an influence is there in most everything we do. Like more talk about sex (and I’m not defending today’s music as appropriate) maybe we should engage in more talk about violence and finding suitable outlets for it. This should be on the immediate agenda. Talk about bullying has already reached the foreground maybe we need to go a step further. Degrading and Non-grading Sex in Popular Music is a link that speaks about violence and substance use as well as sex. It’s authors don’t make a direct correlation between music and these risky behaviors but they lead to the idea that early sexual intercourse and these other behaviors are linked to degrading sex music. That’s right earlier sexual intercourse with a decline in teen pregnancy.
I can’t consider “How Music Effects Today’s Youths” without considering subliminal messaging. It gained overwhelming validation then lost an overwhelming amount of credibility. Now it rest with some credibility and validation. There are still champions of the polar extremes in whether it works or not but most researchers have arrived at a point of moderation. I realized that there’s enough here for another blog and it’s one I will write soon. I will say that though the Supreme Court made subliminal advertising illegal it doesn’t mean that we are not being exposed to it everyday. Here’s a scary thought. What if subliminal messaging entered into the “Mary had a Little Lamb” days. I don’t want anyone with any intention to reach into the subconscious mind of my 14 year old until she is old enough to try a self help recording for herself; if she chooses to do so. In your case it may be your first grader. Yes, I think the young can be effected. We should at least find out what can and can’t be done with subliminal messaging.
In conclusion, today’s music does effect youth but adequate parenting and schooling do as well. It is an American duty to oversee our overseers. Big business needs just as much questioning as Big Brother (The Government). Until next time, keep your homes well.
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