Does Music Affect Teens?
Can the Music Youth Listen to Affect Their Behavior?
Music is often blamed for influencing particular behaviors, but does it really do so? Why is music sometimes associated with negative behavior and actions?
With music being such a staple in youth culture, it seems that each teenager has a “soundtrack to their life.” But, are they just innocently listening to their favorite tunes? Or are they in for something more?
In the media it seems that certain groups that are affiliated with particular genres of music, often seen with styles such as rap and hard-rock/heavy metal, are pinpointed when something within their community goes awry, as having been strongly influenced by the music they listen to.
But does it truly work this way? Can the content of a song influence one’s actions and/or behavior? The question remains; is there really a connection?
As the popularity of music among youth grows, the number of teens who are becoming more violent, more sexually active and who are experimenting with drugs is steadily increasing. The parallel seen between the two analyses sparks questions regarding a connection; does music influence potentially harmful behavior?
Well-Known Incidents Where Music Has Been Blamed
One of the most infamous music-influencing-behavior misconceptions is the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, a town in Jefferson County, Colorado, on Apr. 20, 1999, in which 12 students as well as a teacher were fatally injured, as well as 24 others who were injured.
Upon learning that prior to their suicides, the two shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were heavy metal and Goth music fans, it seemed to be that the media immediately instilled a moral panic about that particular genre of music. More specifically targeted in the Columbine shootings was singer Marilyn Manson.
In filmmaker Michael Moore’s 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine, Marilyn Manson, after being targeted by the media as an influence in the shootings, said, “I definitely can see why they would pick me. Because I think it's easy to throw my face on the TV, because in the end, I'm a poster boy for fear. Because I represent what everyone is afraid of, because I say and do whatever I want.”
Similar to, but not to the same extent, the media made a point to mention that Kimveer Gill, the shooter at the more recent Sept. 13, 2006, shooting at Dawson College in Montréal, Que., followed the music and lifestyle of a Goth.
Why Blame Music?
Why would the media have mentioned the type of music that the killers listen to whether or not it was not attributing it to the shooting?
The answer is simple: moral panic. The term, originally coined by sociologist Stanley Cohen, simply means a reaction to something based on a perception, which, in many cases, is highly exaggerated or even bias.
As put by Manson, he believes that he represents what people are afraid of. Moral panics tend to thrive off of this. Often based from stereotypes, panics are spread thus pinpointing a specific group, often unrighteous in doing so. Since panics and fears often tend to be derived from what we are afraid of (and that is often what we’re uncomfortable with), blaming a subgroup often seems like the easiest, but not necessarily the correct, thing to do.
So, Is There A Connection?
In an article appearing in Adolescence Magazine, the author writes that King, a child psychologist, "stops short of suggesting a cause and effect relationship between listening to this music and destructive behavior, he suggests that it is at least a contributing factor."
The answer to whether or not music can affect a person's behavior is not a simple matter of a yes or no answer. While, yes, it is true that the criminals in the cases of Columbine and Dawson College were listeners of genres of music that the media tends to pinpoint, but these are just two people who listen to that style of music. If the music that people listened to had such a strong influence on their behavior, wouldn't the millions of other listeners (considering that Manson is a multi-platinum selling artist) have destructive behaviors as well?
