English Topic Music Presentation 4o516q

Just Songs or Something More? The Powerful Influence of Music on Teens

Lucas Verville

English 1102

Music • Throughout human history, people have been enchanted by the sounds of music whether for emotional release, religious purposes or own personal pleasures. • People come across music all the time in their daily lives whether they are driving to work, studying for an exam, exercising, dancing at a club, being at church, or even dining at a restaurant. • People often turn to music in order to feel certain emotions such as: anger, sadness, happiness etc. •

Musicologist Dr. Richard Pellegrino- “Music can produce endorphin highs which

trigger a flood of emotions and images that have the ability to instantaneously produce very powerful changes in emotional states” (1)

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Mickey Hart, drummer for the famous band The Grateful Dead, became a musicologist in his later years studying the effects on music. He spent some time focusing on the West African culture and music and noted that “When the African drums were played people would transform. It was as if the drums were calling up something from the cosmopolitan African bodies that had been asleep.” (1) Famous guitarist Jimi Hendrix compared rock music and his concerts to “electrical church” and that when he was playing his music it was as if he was “channeling energy” from within himself. (1)

Potential Problem at Hand • The average teen listens up to 40 hours of music in a single week (Rense) • Depending on ones own musical preference and the frequency that they listen to it, there is a possibility of influencing the way one interacts and forms relationships with others (Professor Brad Reddick of Harvard University) • With children listening to music more than ever before due to the Ipod revolution, teens at risk of depression that listen to large amounts of heavy metal music can absorb it in a negative light. (Dr. Katrina McFerran Music Therapist) •

Adolescents with a taste for heavy metal were found to have a higher rate of delinquency (Singer, Levine, Jou)

• A large portion of adolescent television viewing is taken by watching music videos because it captures the young viewer’s attention by powerfully engaging their emotions. (Teenagers form nearly 3/4th of MTV views and spend an average of 6 hrs a week watching the channel. As much as 22% of the programming contained depictions of violence. Of these videos 63% of the violent acts are performed by young adults.) – Rich Woods Society Media Studies

• Half of incarcerated youth say that slow and bass heavy instruments inspire them to do negative things. They say “something” in the beat has an effect on them. (raprehab.com) •

With so much of todays music embracing sex, violence, drugs and rebellion in such a normal manner can there be a correlation between the music one listens to and the way they act?

Does Rap Put Teens at Risk? by: WEBMD •

WEBMD is a public website that has articles and information on health written by or on physicians with various backgrounds.

• Author: Sid Kirchheimer (health and medical writer for WEBMD since 2002) • Looked at study done by researcher Dr. Ralph DiClemente, PHD of Emory University of Public Health who theorized that teens who spend more time watching sex and violence seen in the “reels” of “gangsta” rap music videos are more likely to exhibit those behaviors later on. • After studying 552 African American girls between the age of 14-18, from lower socioeconomic classes, he found that when compared to those who did not watch rap music videos for at least 14 hrs a week that group was far less likely to pick up the behaviors. (These behaviors included being: 3x more likely to hit a teacher, more than 2.5x likely to get arrested, twice as likely to have multiple sexual partners and 1.5x more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease, use drugs or alcohol.)

Behavioral Issues: Heavy Metals Influence on Adolescence by: HeavyMetalAdolescents.com • HeavyMetalAdolescents is a small public website that focuses on the effects that metal can have on delinquent youths by providing many interesting facts and articles. • Written in 2010, this article looks at a study done by musicologist researchers Kevin Toot and David Weiss looked at fans of heavy metal. • They conducted a survey of 87 adolescents between the age of 12-18, and had their parents try to determine their music preference and if there was any signs of adolescent behavior. • The results indicated that the teens who preferred not only heavy metal but also rap had a higher incidence of below average school grades, school behavior problems and the tendency to engage in thrill seeking behaviors such as drugs, sex etc. • Many of these teens tend to have fragile relationships with their parents

Reflection on Sources • WEBMD/HeavyMetalAdolescents: • Both are liable sources written and credited by medical professionals • Provides important and interesting information on rap music videos and its potential influences on teens. Provides info on how heavy metal can result in adolescent behavior • Both studies were performed researchers of public health with appropriate credentials • Both targeted audiences such as parents, teens and others who may listen to these music genres or know someone that does • All information is relatively recent and up to date • Most importantly, the data presented was very convincing!

Further Questions • Does todays music really differ from that of the music we saw in the 90’s, 80’s and 70’s? • Can music’s ability to connect with people emotionally explain why people develop an interest for certain songs and genres and ultimately certain behaviors? • What kind of music do most middle school and high school students listen to and who are their favorite artists?

Works Cited • Hells Bells Documentary: Power of Popular Music (1) • https://www.psychology.iastate.edu/~dgentile/106027_08.pdf • http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20030303/does-rap-put-teens-atrisk • http://heavymetalandadolescents.com/behavioral-issues.html • http://rense.com/general59/teens.htm • http://raprehab.com/rap-music-brainwashed-youth-and-the-power-ofhip-hop-culture/ • http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/10/20/depressed-teens-listen-toheavy-metal-music-in-unhealthy-way/30581.html • http://jottedlines.com/society/the-negative-effects-of-music-videos-onour-children/