In the Race
Now, here, you see, it takes all the blogging I can do to keep in the same place.
If I want to get somewhere else, I must blog twice as fast as that!
You see, I'm in
the Red Queen's Race...
Music Just May Be the Savage Beast
By Janet Evans
Monday, Feb 11 2008, 06:30 AM
Do you have a clue as to what your teenager is listening to on that Ipod?
It's been said music soothes the savage beast
It just may be the beast for your teenager, as far as lyrics go.
"The average adolescent is exposed to approximately 84 references to explicit substance use daily in popular songs, and this exposure varies widely by musical genre. The substance use depicted in popular music is frequently motivated by peer acceptance and sex, and it has highly positive associations and consequences."
That, from a study done by the Center for Research on Health Care, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2007.
One out of three songs that teenagers listen to has content related to drugs or alcohol, including one quarter about the legal drug of ethanol.
As expected, Rap songs are the worst offenders, with Country songs coming in second.
"Because adolescents aged 15 to 18 years are exposed to an average of 2.4 hours of popular music per day, our results suggest that the average adolescent is exposed to approximately 84 references to explicit substance use per day, 591 references per week, or 30 732 references per year. This represents a pervasive source of exposure to positive portrayals of substance use. Furthermore, exposure varies substantially by genre: the average adolescent listening wholly to pop would be exposed to 5 references per day, whereas the average adolescent listening wholly to rap would be exposed to 251 references per day."
“Music is well-known to connect deeply with adolescents and to influence identity development, perhaps more than any other entertainment medium,'’ said the study authors.
Read an article from the New York Times
Under the Influence of Music à here
Read the complete study
Content Analysis of Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drugs in Popular Music à here
We all know music in your teen's life isn't going anywhere.
You most likely can't control how often they are listening to music when they are away from home.
But you certainly can influence how much they listen to music while they are at home.
Once again, it will involve spending more time with your child.
When you are talking or doing an activity together, it's kind of hard to have those headphones in their ears.
