Can we blame musical influence on our youths current behavior?

[Angel of Iniquity]

So, can we blame music to any degree, in the way our generation reacts to outer stimuli? It seems to me that music helps define cultures more than culture defines music.

*No offense meant to anybody*

It seems that those who listen to Rap and Hip-hop, are lower in the financial scale than say, pop or trance genre music, and seems to promote things that quite frankly, shouldn't be exposed on that level.

I remember a few days back, on fox news, they were talking to a few famous rappers, and almost everyone of them said their music has no harmful consequence to the youth. They said it revolves around the individual.

Now while this may be partly true, it is in human nature to become socially accepted. Also, kids of the younger age are GREATLY effected compared to young adults.

Example: If an 11 year old were to listen to a song promoting sex, drugs, "satan", violence or any of the sort, they will undoubtedly grow different to an 11 year old who listens to Beethoven.

Now this goes for many musical genres, but it seems Rap and Hip-hop are common place where I live.

Sorry if this made little sense, I'm trying to get used to this whole debating thing.

[Freya]

I'd say this is the same as claiming that if an 11-year-old plays first person shooters, he/she will eventually be a killer in the future.
What I want to say is that these are prejudices. Not everyone who listens to Hip Hop will be influenced by this. Plus, you always have to see that there are TWO sides of every musical genre.
As for Hip Hop, there IS - what we'd call - "good" Hip Hop, which is NOT about sex, drugs and violence. I've already read a couple of good lyrics by Hip Hop artists. But what you see on television, that's the Hip Hop you think of when it comes to this topic.

Of course I wouldn't dare to doubt that maybe there are a few kids who really ARE influenced by music. But I wouldn't say that music is to blame for the behavior of the kids.

Let's see: If kids see violence on televison, doesn't that influence them as well? Or even violence they see in REALITY. (That's far worse if you ask me.)

I've already seen people who listen to pop and who acted like whores. Or were pretty violent. I've seen many people who listen to Metal who were violent. Of course I've also seen people who listen to Hip Hop who were violent. But it didn't matter what they listened to, they didn't seem to say "Hey, I've heard how to beat up someone in that song, now I want to try that out!". But I can't say why they acted like they did, either.

Maybe music influences them at least a BIT. But I really wouldn't say it's the root of all evil.

[Angel of Iniquity]

Well, it is shown that video games to kids raised in healthy homes are just that, video games. Their brains don't take it as, literal killing because they shouldn't know any better. Even in a healthy family, music is one of the easiest forms of stimuli that the parent can't control. Music however usually is the major distinctive point in a set culture as in the Rap/hip-hop culture.

And kids don't get shown the good musical forms because, they usually don't get shown on T.V.
What common classes of music are shown on Tv?
Rap, Hip-hop, Punk, Pop, Rock, Metal. From what I understand, even the "safe" music videos express overt sexuality through images, or even adult situations ranging from sexual intercourse to suicidal actions and or behavior.

I feel that Music is on the top 3 reasons why a whole generation is apt to change in a degenerative manor.

[Unknown Entity]

I'm siding with Freya on her point about video games. It is more or less the same thing.

People's interpretations of music gets muddled up, and instead of seeing it as music, they see it as a lifeline, or something to go by. I think people who take music too seriously to the point they'll change their lifestyle based on a band are absolutely ridiculous. My Chemical Romance are considered an emo band, with emo followers, yet Gerard Way stated that he thought emo was a load of shit. Their lyrics might go over topics like death, what happens when you die, hell, funerals, and the like, but not once do any of the band members support people's decisions to take their lives.

I guess kids can be lead astray by music, but music isn't to blame. If a kid gets hold of a gun and shoots someone dead, they can't say "Well, Eminem's friend did it, and he rapped about it, so I thought I'd do it too!" That's just like blaming Da Vinci and his Mona Lisa for you never laughing.

Whatever happened to music just being cleverly placed lyrics with a good beat?

[Heartless Angel]

Nope. Not even a little bit. Just like blaming video games, TV or any other media, there's just no real way to show causality. Corellation, perhaps, but never causality. This could mean rap causes kids to become sex crazed drug addicts with a thing for firearms, sure. Or it could mean the aforementioned jackass kids just like music about the shit they're interested in. And the morons who for some reason want to fit in with these people listen to the same music and act like them to acomplish this.

I'll probably post more later, but I've gotta go now.

[Linus Li Lelouch]

So, can we blame music to any degree, in the way our generation reacts to outer stimuli? It seems to me that music helps define cultures more than culture defines music.

I remember a few days back, on fox news, they were talking to a few famous rappers, and almost everyone of them said their music has no harmful consequence to the youth. They said it revolves around the individual.

Now while this may be partly true, it is in human nature to become socially accepted. Also, kids of the younger age are GREATLY effected compared to young adults.

The more I hear people say it's in human nature to become socially accepted, the more I think it's just to those who have not achieve the pinnacle of their own awareness. I for one could care less and that's the obvious truth, I can go to the movies by myself and not feel sad, I can go eat in a public restaurant by myself and not feel sad, I can go out to a bar and still have fun by myself.

If along the way, a group of people are like hey let's do something, then depending on how I feel, I may go do it, but I'm not gonna jump up with joy saying YAY SOMEONE LIKES ME (and yes this is the same for when I was a kid, I had my group of friends but that's because we share common interests or rather they shared my interest for videogames and anime) Kids today just need a hobby, and something that won't affect them to the point of it changing their entire life just to fit in.

Getting back to the topic at hand, I'm also going to agree with it revolving around the individual, it's plain and simple, not hard to realize it. Some will take it with the grain of the entire world and their own life, others will say "damn this is a good song". Again it goes back to how they were raise to listen to music, or the reaction they wanted to adopt from their parents.

I for one adopted nothing from my parents, actually the only thing we have in common is that I look like them. Their little baby is gone forever, with no trace of their legacy.

[Shiro]

I believe music and video games can trigger an already existing tendency in a person's mind. If a person is mentally unstable or prone to being easily influenced, music lyrics or video game violence may be the catalyst that leads them to do acts that then get blamed on the music or game industry as a whole.

[Angel of Iniquity]

Hmm, what I do notice is that we, or more or less you guys forget what the word child is.
Yes, this comparison I am making is what I mean.
If parents argue around a child, about 5 yr's old, the child may end up more frustrated in school, or lash out on other kids.
If parents eat allot of vegitables, then the child may want to like vegitables and grow to like them.
If parents were to swear numerously around their child, the child, not knowing the severity of those words, may repeat them.
Fucvking shit I wish I could explain.

[Freya]

about 5 yr's old

I don't know what you did when you were 5 years old - but I didn't listen to music that much. And I didn't know what they were singing about - lyrics? What's that, mommy? Is it something to eat?
I started listening to music when I was about 8-9 years old. But I started reading lyrics when I was about 12-13. So that's what I'm talking about: How music influences 12-13-year-olds. And at this particular age, I don't think that parents will influence the kids anymore.

Another thing I'd like to mention: Music CAN influence the behavior of a child. For example when all your friends listen to... Rap - when you want to be friends with them, you listen to Rap as well. (I've seen that a lot when I was about 13 years old, but of course there are many kids who don't do what their friends do all the time!) If they THEN start being violent, you MAY do that as well. (But I'm not exactly sure about that, mostly because I haven't seen that before.)
Music doesn't have to play a big role in such groups, but it MAY be part of the "bad behavior".

[Angel of Iniquity]

I don't know what you did when you were 5 years old - but I didn't listen to music that much. And I didn't know what they were singing about - lyrics? What's that, mommy? Is it something to eat?
I started listening to music when I was about 8-9 years old. But I started reading lyrics when I was about 12-13. So that's what I'm talking about: How music influences 12-13-year-olds. And at this particular age, I don't think that parents will influence the kids anymore.

Another thing I'd like to mention: Music CAN influence the behavior of a child. For example when all your friends listen to... Rap - when you want to be friends with them, you listen to Rap as well. (I've seen that a lot when I was about 13 years old, but of course there are many kids who don't do what their friends do all the time!) If they THEN start being violent, you MAY do that as well. (But I'm not exactly sure about that, mostly because I haven't seen that before.)
Music doesn't have to play a big role in such groups, but it MAY be part of the "bad behavior".

Well, music is the central point of Culture, and a set culture usually has a set way of life. If a kid is raised into liking the music, even if he doesn't understand the lyrics, he will grow into the culture if he continues.

I guess what I was saying is, Music influences kids by their CUlture. I'll reprise what I mean later, 6am and no sleep yet.

[Selcopa]

No, but we can blame the parents for not being proactive on noticing if their kid is becoming more and more influenced in a negative way by ANYTHING.

Seriously everyone tries to look for these outside reasons that kids get corrupted, and no one wants to look within for blame. Reality guys, parents are responsible for the way their child develops in every way, it's just a fact that there are tons of shitty parents. There are way more instances of shitty kids having shitty parents, then a kid turning out bad despite good loving parents trying to do everything they can to steer them in the right direction, and the kid just refuses to go with it. Yes it happens, but not near as often as, terrible parents creating terrible kids.

[Heartless Angel]

If you're talking abut parents music influencing kids to listen to it more often, then I feel it nescessary to pose the question, how many kids actually listen to the same stuff as their parents? I mean really. By the time we're ready to hit adulthood, we've grown out of the emulating our parents phase... I hope. And in most cases, we don't listen to the same shit our parents do. Worst case scenario, I could see kids repeating prfanty in songs, but by and large, I highly houbt there's any significant correlation between the music we heard as kids and our behavior now. Now if you had the kind of parent who played shit like that in front of a 5 year old, there's probably a good chance that kid could end up messed up, but it has nothing to do with the music. It'd be because he has a bad parent who knows so little aout rasing a child that he'd do stupid shit like that in the first place.

[Dan558]

I don`t think music is as influential as people like to think. It`s not the best comparison but it`s funny to think about how in the 80`s and stuff Rock was "Devil Music" and was sometimes blown out of proportion so badly.

Of coarse then again evidence points to the contrary, I think this generation is stupider and more ignorant then any past generations. Maybe rock did have something to do with it. More likely though I blame TV more then 3-6 minute lyrical rhythm blurbs. TV gives more of a model as to how to react and assess situations as a whole in a more in depth way. Music may be more a a result rather then a cause and rather then a force against societies degredation it more goes with he flow and feeds on it possibly only adding momentary fuel.

I know music likes to send messages sometimes but it can be easily overwritten for the need of a catchy tune.

Basically I think some music has gotten out of control because society has gotten out of control. Not the other way around. Don`t get me started on what`s wrong with society these days...

[Selcopa]

@HA, no I am speaking in much more general terms, that parents have the responsibility to steer their children in positive directions, not to say that a parent should prevent a child from listening to a certain type of music, but that a parent should be active in the child's life, and be able to recognize and react to seeing their child being influenced by music(or anything else) in a negative way to prevent it from causing damage, and that the majority of children that have issues are due to the fact that their parents did not partake in this.

[Shiro]

Peer pressure, violence and profanity are not exclusive to this generation. These acts have been around for millenia and will continue to be around long after rap, metal and radio pop are forgotten. Unfortunately aggression and manipulation are part of our species behaviour. It's just easier to blame it on music and other 'influences' than to acknowledge that we all have the potential to be assholes, sometimes all it needs is a trigger. We always compare our generation to that before it, in my opinion the reason the youth is so out of control is because most of the disciplinary measures that kept them in line in the past have either become illegal or frowned upon...
Back to music, think about how controversial artists like Elvis were in their time. Heck, even Bizet had audiences raising eyebrows because his opera Carmen had 'inappropriate' content. And that was back in the 1500s! 'Bad' music and related media will always be around, because people need a scapegoat when someone shows the darkness they can't accept resides in themselves too.

[Heartless Angel]

2Sel, that was actually directed at Angel of Iniquity, my bad for not making it clear who i was talking to.

[Faustus]

People choose their music, it doesn't choose and mold them, it may influence them to a very minor extent but it can't create tendencies that weren't already there. It can only sort of nudged them.

Yours truly grew up with his parents listening to songs about love and peace and all that other hippie crap. And rap, and punk and all the other shit the other kids were listening to when I was growing up but it didn't draw me in, regardless of how much I was exposed. Then when I listened to an Iron Maiden cd at the request of a friend it was like a switch went off in my head and I've been listening ever since.

[Angantyr]

I agree with the above.

I've listened to many genre's over the years but ultimately found the two ideals which have always been attractive to me: anything Grimdark and/or Hypnotic/Ambient sounding that brings the listener to another world. Even if you look at the music I listened to when I was an impressionable kid it was still evident.

Did it effect me? No, I don't do drugs (though everybody seems to think I do) and I have no gothic'esq pseudonym (do not confuse your perception with the reality).

[Xavier Thunderfoot]

If I may interject some fact into this thread, it has been proven that music has great power over the brain. For example if you had a choice of listening to the music of either Bachman-Turner Overdrive or Mozart, it would be better to listen to Mozart, for its special beat pattern taps into both brain lobes simultaniously, enhancing one's mathamatical abilities.

I researched this topic for my Mini Senior Project, thus I now know quite a lot about it.

[DrewYeahhh]

Im noy goona lie but i listen to greeby music and im a greeb. so music does influence you.

[Phantom]

I used to think music like Rap influenced alot of kids bad behavior with all the cursing, swearing, sex and words they say it songs like that. It could be one factor, but other things could be similar like video games little kids probably shouldn't play, like GTA (Grand Theft Auto) games for example. I play them alot but even as a kid I played GTA3 alot over my uncle's house, but it never influenced me at all, but it might be different for other kids. That's why parent's need to monitor what their kids play and watch on tv. But like I said other factors could play into a child's behavioral patterns.