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Impact of Music Lyrics and Music Videos on Children and Youth


Beatnik

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From The AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS:

http://www.aap.org/policy/01219.html

 

Impact of Music Lyrics and Music Videos on Children and Youth (RE9648)

 

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

 

 

Committee on Communications

 

MUSIC LYRICS

Music lyrics have undergone dramatic changes since the introduction of rock music more than 40 years ago. This is an issue of vital interest and concern for parents and pediatricians.

During the past four decades, rock music lyrics have become increasingly explicit-particularly with reference to sex, drugs, and violence. [1,2] Recently, heavy metal and "gangsta rap" music lyrics have elicited the greatest concern. In some cases lyrics communicate potentially harmful health messages. [3] Such lyrics are of special concern in todays environment, which poses unprecedented threats to the health and well-being of adolescents. Pregnancy, drug use, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (and other sexually transmitted diseases), injuries, homicide, and suicide have all become part of the landscape of everyday life for many American teens. [3,4]

At the same time, music is important to teenagers identity and helps them define important social and subcultural boundaries. [5] The results of one survey of 2760 14- to 16-year-olds in 10 different southeastern cities showed that that they listened to music an average of 40 hours per week. [6] One Swedish study found that adolescents who developed an early interest in rock music were more likely to be influenced by their peers and less influenced by their parents than older adolescents. [7]

To date, no studies have documented a cause-and-effect relationship between sexually explicit or violent lyrics and adverse behavioral effects. [8] A possible explanation for this lack of finding is that teenagers often do not know the lyrics or fully comprehend their meaning. For example, in one study only 30% of teenagers knew the lyrics to their favorite songs, and their comprehension varied greatly. [9] For this reason, publishing the lyrics separately could be counterproductive. At the same time, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) feels that parents should be knowledgeable about the content of their teenagers music. Therefore, the AAP feels that specific descriptive labeling of music content (eg, violence, sex, drugs, offensive language) would be desirable. Only one study has examined the impact of parental advisory labels, and it found that teens were not more likely to be attracted simply because of the labeling. [10]

Most teenagers tend to interpret their favorite songs as being about "love, friendship, growing up, lifes struggles, having fun, cars, religion, and other topics that relate to teenage life." [11,p.393] However, for a small subgroup of teenagers, music preference may be highly significant. Numerous studies indicate that a preference for heavy metal music may be a significant marker for alienation, substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, suicide risk, sex-role stereotyping, or risk-taking behaviors during adolescence. [6,12-22]

The AAP strongly opposes censorship. At the same time the AAP is greatly concerned that negative behavioral messages are being recorded and repeatedly broadcast. By law, (the Federal Communications Act of 1934), the public owns the airways, which are leased back to radio and television stations that are obligated to produce programming in the publics best interest. Awareness of, and sensitivity to, the potential impact of music lyrics by consumers, the media, and the music industry is crucial. It is in childrens best interest to listen to lyrics that are not violent, sexist, drug-oriented, or antisocial.

Although the evidence is incomplete, based on our knowledge of child and adolescent development, the AAP believes that parents should be aware of pediatricians concerns about the possible negative impact of music lyrics.

Therefore, the AAP recommends that:

 

1. Pediatricians should encourage parents to take an active role in monitoring music that their children and adolescents are exposed to and which they purchase.

 

2. Pediatricians should join with educators and parents in local and national coalitions to discuss the effects of music lyrics on children and adolescents.

 

3. The public, and parents in particular, should be made aware of sexually explicit, drug-oriented, or violent lyrics on compact discs, tapes, music videos, and the Internet. The music industry should develop and apply a system of specific content-labeling of music regarding violence, sex, drugs, or offensive lyrics. If labeling is not done voluntarily by the music industry, then regulation should be developed to make it mandatory.

 

4. Broadcasters and the music industry should be encouraged to demonstrate sensitivity and self-restraint in decisions regarding what is produced, marketed, and broadcast.

 

5. Performers should be encouraged to serve as positive role models for children and teenagers.

 

6. Research should be developed concerning the impact music lyrics have on the behavior of adolescents and preadolescents.

 

MUSIC VIDEOS

Music video formats are popular among children and adolescents. When music lyrics are illustrated in music videos, their potential impact is magnified. [3,5,23,24] Teenagers who may not "hear" or understand rock lyrics cannot avoid the often disturbing images that characterize a growing number of videos. In addition, music videos are self-reinforcing: if viewers hear a song after having seen the video version, they immediately "flash back" to the visual imagery in the video. [17] Music videos may represent a relatively new art form, but it is one that often contains an excess of sexism, violence, substance abuse, suicides, and inappropriate sexual behavior. [25-28]

With 70% of American households receiving cable television, [29] most teenagers have access to Music Television (MTV) and VH-1 and watch an average of a half hour to 2 hours of music videos daily. [5,30] Content analyses indicate that up to 75% of concept music videos (those involving a theme instead of a concert performance) contain sexually suggestive material. [25,26] More than half contain violence, which often includes acts committed against women. [25,26] Women are frequently portrayed in a condescending manner. [27,28] Alcohol and tobacco use are also glamorized in many music videos that teenagers view. [31] As with music lyrics, teenagers ability to comprehend and interpret music videos may vary widely and may represent an important variable in their potential impact. [5,32,33]

A handful of experimental studies indicate that music videos may have a significant behavioral impact by desensitizing viewers to violence [34-36] and by making teenagers more likely to approve of premarital sex. [37] In one study, eliminating access to MTV decreased the frequency of violent acts among teenagers and young adults in a locked treatment facility. [38]

The AAP recommends the following:

 

1. Pediatricians should counsel parents to monitor television viewing and to recognize that television is a potent teacher of children and adolescents. As with other media, television exposure to content involving sex, violence, or drug use should be regulated by parents in accordance with the age and maturity of their children and adolescents.

 

2. Pediatricians should counsel parents to become media-literate. This means watching television with their children and teenagers, discussing the content with them, and initiating the process of selective viewing at an early age.

 

3. Music video producers should be encouraged to exercise sensitivity and self-restraint in what they depict, as should networks in what they choose to air.

 

4. The music video industry should be encouraged to produce videos and public service messages with positive themes about relationships, racial harmony, drug avoidance, nonviolence and conflict resolution, sexual abstinence, pregnancy prevention, and avoidance of sexually transmitted diseases.

 

5. Research concerning the impact music videos have on the behavior of children and adolescents should be developed.

 

 

 

COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS, 1995 to 1996

Marjorie Hogan, MD, Chair

Miriam Bar-on, MD

Lillian Beard, MD

Suzanne Corrigan, MD

H. James Holroyd, MD

S. Norman Sherry, MD

Donald Shifrin, MD

Victor Strasburger, MD

"Creo en la Reflexión, no en Dogmas"

Beatnik

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From The American Psychological Association (APA):

http://www.apa.org/releases/violentsongs.html

 

VIOLENT MUSIC LYRICS INCREASE AGGRESSIVE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS, ACCORDING TO NEW STUDY

Even Humorous Violent Songs Increase Hostile Feelings

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

WASHINGTON - Songs with violent lyrics increase aggression related thoughts and emotions and this effect is directly related to the violence in the lyrics, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association (APA). The findings, appearing in the May issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, contradicts popular notions of positive catharsis or venting effects of listening to angry, violent music on violent thoughts and feelings.

 

In a series of five experiments involving over 500 college students, researchers from Iowa State University and the Texas Department of Human Services examined the effects of seven violent songs by seven artists and eight nonviolent songs by seven artists. The students listened to the songs and were given various psychological tasks to measure aggressive thoughts and feelings. One such task involved participants classifying words that can have both aggressive and nonaggressive meanings, such as rock and stick.

 

To control for factors not related to the content of the lyrics, the violent and nonviolent songs were sung by the same artists and were in the same musical style in three of the experiments. In the two other experiments, the researchers tested the arousal properties of the songs to make sure the violent-lyric effects were not due to differences in arousal. Also, individual personality differences related to hostility were assessed and controlled. The study also included songs with humorous lyrics to see how humor interacted with violent song lyrics and aggressive thoughts.

 

Results of the five experiments show that violent songs led to more aggressive interpretations of ambiguously aggressive words, increased the relative speed with which people read aggressive vs. nonaggressive words, and increased the proportion of word fragments (such as h_t) that were filled in to make aggressive words (such as hit). The violent songs increased feelings of hostility without provocation or threat, according to the authors, and this effect was not the result of differences in musical style, specific performing artist or arousal properties of the songs. Even the humorous violent songs increased aggressive thoughts.

 

The violent-song increases in aggressive thoughts and feelings have implications for real world violence, according to lead researcher Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D. of Iowa State University. "Aggressive thoughts can influence perceptions of ongoing social interactions, coloring them with an aggressive tint. Such aggression-biased interpretations can, in turn, instigate a more aggressive response -verbal or physical - than would have been emitted in a nonbiased state, thus provoking an aggressive escalatory spiral of antisocial exchanges," said Dr. Anderson.

 

The study investigated precursors to aggression rather than aggressive behavior itself. More research is needed, say the authors, to identify the short-term and long-term effects of violent song lyrics. Repeated exposure to violent lyrics may contribute to the development of an aggressive personality and could indirectly create a more hostile social environment, although the authors say it is possible that the effects of violent songs may last only a fairly short time.

 

"One major conclusion from this and other research on violent entertainment media is that content matters," said Dr. Anderson. "This message is important for all consumers, but especially for parents of children and adolescents."

 

Article: "Exposure to Violent Media: The Effects of Songs With Violent Lyrics on Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings," Craig A. Anderson and Nicholas L. Carnagey, Iowa State University and Janie Eubanks, Texas Department of Human Services; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 84, No. 5.

 

Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office or at http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/press_releases/may_2003/psp845960.html

 

Lead author Craig Anderson, Ph.D., can be reached at (515) 294-0283 or by Email.

 

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 53 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.

"Creo en la Reflexión, no en Dogmas"

Beatnik

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Originally posted by Dave th Dude:

I repeat, I will defend to the death their right to say it.

 

Why? Because if you can censor what they say today, you can censor what I say tomorrow.

 

Dave

Originally posted by Beatnik:

The AAP strongly opposes censorship.

3. The public, and parents in particular, should be made aware of sexually explicit, drug-oriented, or violent lyrics on compact discs, tapes, music videos, and the Internet. The music industry should develop and apply a system of specific content-labeling of music regarding violence, sex, drugs, or offensive lyrics. If labeling is not done voluntarily by the music industry, then regulation should be developed to make it mandatory.

 

"Creo en la Reflexión, no en Dogmas"

Beatnik

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Originally posted by Beatnik:

To date, no studies have documented a cause-and-effect relationship between sexually explicit or violent lyrics and adverse behavioral effects.

And their recommendation is to do the study. Great. But until they do one, this little sentence that I've quoted means the rest of their statements are based on...what? Common sense? Anecdotal evidence? There's no mention that listening to gangster rap or Christian music is a SYMPTOM of certain behavioral tendencies, not a cause.

 

Look, I'm not against anything that the quoted document advocates. And I'm not necessarily a fan of gangster rap. But people need to realize that parents need to take a major amount of responsibility for the way their kids turn out. Not video games, not TV, not rap or metal or contemporary Christian or the Achy Breaky...PARENTS. If you don't care for rap, turn it off. If you don't want your kids to listen to it, don't allow it. If you can't control your kids listening habits...well, now we've come to the crux of the problem.

 

But you know what? There are a lot of kids that listen to gangster rap and talk the talk about hos and gats and krystal...and then go to college or into a trade and lead normal lives.

 

The kids that end up on the street selling dope and spraying Uzi fire from cars? I bet that listening to Tupac was the least of their "influences".

"For instance" is not proof.

 

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We talked about media effects in class. There's no direct correlation or science to any of this. Studies or not, they're are many media effects theories going around right now. You'll never be able to place an A + B = C formula on how teenagers will respond to music.
Shut up and play.
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Originally posted by revolead:

We talked about media effects in class. There's no direct correlation or science to any of this. Studies or not, they're are many media effects theories going around right now. You'll never be able to place an A + B = C formula on how teenagers will respond to music.

Hey, Revo, at least we're on the same page on this. ;)

"For instance" is not proof.

 

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Good relations between parents and children, including honest, open communication, is more important than any songs, movies, books, or any other media that the children are exposed to. Or NOT exosed to. Even more important than what they are or aren't taught in schools.

 

And the objectional material in songs and movies, etc., came from somewhere- called "real life"! It's sad that it gets exploited, but no amount of any kind of lyrics will warp your child if you maintain that honest, open two-way communcation and loving relationship with them.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Originally posted by Caevan O'Shite:

Good relations between parents and children, including honest, open communication, is more important than any songs, movies, books, or any other media that the children are exposed to. Or NOT exosed to. Even more important than what they are or aren't taught in schools.

 

And the objectional material in songs and movies, etc., came from somewhere- called "real life"! It's sad that it gets exploited, but no amount of any kind of lyrics will warp your child if you maintain that honest, open two-way communcation and loving relationship with them.

I'm not sure I can atest to this. I never had a good relationship with my parents, especially my dad, but maybe some of their ethics and morals did rub off on me, but I believe a lot of what I believe I discovered on my own or learned through other sources, non-media based usually.
Shut up and play.
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I dunno.

 

I've listened to tons of music that has all sorts of "negative" lyrics.

 

I don't worship nor shout at the devil, i don't live on reds, vitamin C and cocaine, i haven't killed anyone, including myself, etc. blah blah.

 

I think I turned out ok, so far.

 

Oh, and btw, Geraldo can eat my ass for the stint he pulled around 1988 with all his Heavy Metal Music Suicide T.V. specials and crap.

Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper

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WWND?

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My problem with this, which is my problem with lots of things, is... Who decides

We will never agree on what is objectionable, and even if we ever do, only a small percentage of the Parents will respect, follow and adhere to the guidelines.

 

Why? Some of them maybe lazy, some too simple to comprehend the implications and some may actually trust their childs perceptions of right and wrong because they themselves have instilled these things in them from such a very young age.

 

Dave said it perfectly for me, Tea.

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This exact ground was covered twenty years ago by PMRC, and humorously opposed by Zappa, Dee Snider, and many others.

 

Though AAP claims to oppose censorship, it becomes defacto censorship when the "warning sticker" they espouse is applied to a CD. As soon as that happens, multiple sources refuse to broadcast it or make it available for sale (this is more tied together nowadays when one media conglomerate may own the radio station AND the CD distributor AND the local advertising media). So now something which might have social or artistic value is not available to free adults because some arbitrarily chosen judgment board decides it could be harmful.

 

The odd thing is that, somehow, the 'bad' content always turns out to be sexual. Everything from Saturday morning cartoons to TerminatorIII portrays doing deadly violence to those who oppose us in the most flattering of terms. But show naked people pleasuring each other, or sing about it, and the world goes apoplectic.

 

HOWEVER, it is easy to see cause & effect of violent content in my own life. My wife watches & reads Stephen King-type stuff, and regularly has nightmares. I do not put that garbage in my head. Guess what? I sleep well, and have pleasant dreams.... a big surprise, eh? So I do not deny the results the various agencies have obtained concerning content. I just don't think their 'stickering' solution is appropriate to a free society, especially when they claim that making lyrics available is a bad idea. Lyric availability is true knowledge in a free society; a sticker imposed by some morals board is the antithesis of truly informing people.

I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist.

 

This ain't no track meet; this is football.

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Of course labeling CD's to ward off parents or teens relates to another sweeping matter. How can anybody receive the warnings if they arent buying the CDs and instead downloaing. That was a very good article though. I found it very interesting, and it corresponds to the popular music thread very closely. Proving mine and others points.
hot girls, fast cars, and even louder guitars
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Kids are gonna here it anyway, if not on the computer then in the schools and steets, its a battle that you will never be able to stop.

 

I haven't got kids, but was realy upset that my sisters good parenting was gonna be let down by other parents bad parenting.

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