The Effects of Negative Music on Today’s Youth

Music can be a very positive force for a person’s mental health; calming, relaxing, and intellectually stimulating. This is true for those of all different age groups; adults, children and the elderly.

However music can, and often does, affect our emotions negatively as well as positively; depending on how frequently it is listened to, it can create channels in our minds and patterns of thinking. Music can have major impacts on our ideas and ideologies, powerfully and emotionally conveying an idealistic way of life. It is said that a pregnant woman who listens to Mozart during pregnancy is more likely to have a child who excels in school and have positive relationships. In contrast a woman who listens to rap during pregnancy is more likely to give birth to a child who is more aggressive and anti-social.

Although music is used for positive growth in some areas, in others it portrays a negative message to those who listen to it.

Recent studies from the University of South Carolina have shown that children, teens and young adults are the most affected by the negative messages given off by today’s music industry. Songs such as “Smack-That” by Akon or “Hoes and Ladies” by T-Pain portray messages that women should be treated as personal belongings and/or are only needed for a man’s sexual satisfaction.

Women are a huge target in the music industry today. Artists say that not all women are being targeted, only the ones who do not respect themselves.

A rapper in pop culture today making this notion more popular and glorified is Andre Adams, better known by his stage name, Andre Nickatina, or by his previous stage name Dre Dog. In a review of Andre Nickatina’s album “HELL’S KITCHEN” the lyrics were described as “blunt” and “unaware” his lyrics were coming off to others and influencing youth to commit crimes and glorify drug abuse.

Author Donald F. Roberts stated in an article recently submitted to his blog about “the effects of violent music on children and adolescence.” Roberts said that in a survey given to junior and senior high school students, a majority of the students marked a box labeled “Has felt influenced negatively by music” rather then in the box that said “Has never felt negatively influenced by music.” Roberts mentions more then once in the article that “The evidence of that survey alone should be enough all together to stop the broadcasting of inappropriate music!” Mr. Roberts says bluntly, “I have something to say and I intend on saying it”

Layla McLean, a mother and investigative reporter for a newspaper in the small town of Merced, California, displayed contempt towards the music of today, stating that within the last three years she’s done multiple reports around the music that had been found playing after finding a teen had committed suicide. McLean states that “listening to half of the music most kids listen to on a daily basis would be enough to ruin a day, not to mention glorify suicide and influence self harm”

As a young adult in today’s society I can say from experience that being influenced by the media is something teens go through everyday. Feeling pressured to fit in and be accepted in a group is something every person goes through in their life, and during adolescence you’re willing to do a lot of things that may be out of your comfort zone.

Listening to music that you wouldn’t normally listen to is something I see a lot, feeling the need to have that connection to a person through music, to be able to have conversations and be liked because you’re a part of the “Mainstream” flow of things.

Now that I am older and know more about myself I can see past negative messages given off in music; however I do know the difficulty that takes place when trying to figure out how to look past things like popularity and find your true self. Coming from a town where the only people who mattered were the one’s who looked like clones, where if you marched to your own drum you were considered “weird”, where if you didn’t feel comfortable screaming the lyrics to every crude mainstream song they played at your homecoming dance you didn’t know “good” music. Well I’m here to say that’s not true, music can affect us in negative ways; youth act out because of influences in music. This isn’t something to take lightly; it’s becoming a bigger deal everyday. I’m not asking you to stop listening to music all together, because like I mentioned earlier, some music does have great effects on people. I’m just saying to be aware of what messages you’re letting yourself or the people around you be exposed to. If we can stop this in its tracks then maybe there’ll be hope for the generations to come…

You have a voice, let it be heard!