The Influence of Music on Youth

We've got Jay-Z, L'il Wayne, Eminem and the like. But what is the effect of these songs on the youth of our society? In this day, teens and kids as young as eight or nine years old are singing the lyrics to songs they have NO realization of what they truly mean. Take Britney Spears' "If you seek Amy". This song topped the charts for a while, and embedded in the lyrics was: F-U-C-K- me. A seven year old heard this song on the radio and started singing it *in school*. It is quite obvious how what we think are trendy tunes are actually influences on the younger generation.

What makes these songs so popular? The artist? The melody? The lyrics? The message? As a teenager myself, I would have to say that all of these things play a part in making a song succesful in the music business, but are certainly weighted differently. Kei$ha's new hit "Blah Blah Blah" offers no genuity in terms of lyrics, yet has such a great melody that people will sing it happily.

However, lyrics have made quite a comeback, and not all in positive forms. Guys and Girls in Grade 7 and up will sing songs that contain sex, violence and swearing with what I believe as almost "pride". My theory is that people who sing songs that are vulgar and pertain to sex and drugs show off that they can talk that badly. *THEY GET ATTENTION IF THEY TALK BADLY* That is their incentive; attention. Nobody wants to sing a song about birthday cakes and faeries do they? Course not. At least not at my school :P. No, people will sing songs like "don't trust a hoe, won't trust a hoe, never trust a hoe, that won't trust me" I'm not even reffering to high school, this is just Grade 7 and up!

Now, if we incorporate these thoughts into everyday life, we can make some intersting connections. Personally, I think carefully about what lyrics I sing along to, and even if I do sing along to some not-so-appropriate songs, I know that I won't make decisions based on these influences. But this is just me. There are many people in society who inadvertently DO make decisions based on these songs. Take school dances for instance. If a dirty song comes up, like Sexy can I, or Lollipop, kids are going to dance the way the song flows! That, in my opinion, is how "the grind dance" originated. This could also be related to the attention component of it, because there is a lot of attention drawn to those who do dance that particular way, and it may not all be a good kind of attention. Even the nicest, most decent kid in grade 8 could make bad decisions based on what they hear on songs.

I really think it all comes down to attention. On facebook, there are so many references to music! This is generally not a bad thing, but in some cases it is not used correctly. For example, a person on facebook named their birthday picture album "birthday sex". You can see how this is not a good thing! No matter what angle you look at it from, naming ANY album birthday sex is incredibly innappropriate, especially at such a young age.

Now, just so I'm not contradicting myself, listening to music isn't a bad thing! Heck, listening to Eminem and L'il Wayne isn't a bad thing! (To be completely honest, I am a huge fan of the two and have all their songs on my ipod) The important thing is just to make sure that you don't get too carried away with all of the junk they sing. You can appreciate a song without bad mouthing, and you can enjoy a tune without grinding! Just keep a few things in mind: Don't sing these kinds of songs in front of your parents, because it's going to lead nowhere good. Secondly, don't post innappropriate lyrics as your facebook status! (It gets annoying, and people know you're just trying to get attention). Fireflies and Halo and stuff like that is fine, but stay away from the whole 50 cent thing. And the last thing, DON'T BUY EXPLICIT VERSIONS OF SONGS ON ITUNES! Honestly, what benefit is it to you? Bitch or chick? Exactly.

This blog was just to let the gals and guys out there to just be aware of what's going on, and make good decisions when it comes to influnces from music. Parents, if you're reading this, this is just to let you know of what you're kids are exposed to. Hey, hopefully you've raised 'em right and they don't have any issues with this!

Now, don't leave my blog thinking that music of the 21st century is a terrible, terrible thing and that (if you're a parent) you will never let your kid listen to music again, or if you're a kid, think your committing a crime! MUSIC IS AMAZING. I love music. I sing it, I dance to it, I express myself with it. Just use it well, and for the right reasons!

Just live you're life!

-Rihanna


(See now that's a song you can post as your facebook status ;) )