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Music Video Effects on It's Listeners

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Music Video Effects on its Listeners

EN 1320 / Composition I

Music Video Effects on its Listeners

Some would argue that these videos are simply a way for musical artists to express themselves in a way that they normally could not with just music, but statistics and research would argue otherwise. Studies have shown that a vast majority of music videos today have a negative impact on adolescents. These videos have a large influence on how teens view themes such as sex, drugs, violence and even influence their behaviors like how they see themselves and how they think they should fit in by establishing gender stereotypes. These themes are very dangerous as most of today’s youth get their information from the media. While some music videos are seen as an art form, they force much of today’s teens to hold very unrealistic views of life by skewing what their priorities and goals should be.

Today’s music and its videos have a huge influence on many factors of a young adolescent’s life. One aspect in particular is sex. Studies have shown that sexual content appears in more than 75% of the videos being viewed (Ashby, 2005). Needless to say, this is a very high exposure of sexual content in music videos. The dangerous part of this is that young impressionable minds are viewing these videos and getting most of their information about sex and life decisions from the media instead of from parents. The danger is shown in other studies, such as one in which some students were shown some music videos from MTV before taking a survey were much more likely to approve of premarital sex than the other half of the students that did not view the content before the survey (Ashby, 2005). These learned behaviors can lead to terrible consequences such as STD’s and pregnancy. A very real example of this is the glorifying of teen pregnancy on MTV shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”.

Drugs and alcohol are also very heavy in music videos today. Whether it is as heavy as showing needles or narcotics or as light as cigarettes and beer, these are major themes in music videos and pop culture. These themes are sometimes hinted subtly by extras in the background drinking at a nightclub or even being the whole subject matter of the song, as seen in songs like Nickelback’s “Bottoms Up” or Lil Wayne’s song, “Me and My Drank”. Young adults are the ones portrayed smoking and/or drinking in most of these videos. In addition drug use is shown in a positive light 74% of the time and alcohol is shown as positive 78% of the time (Ashby, 2005). While many may claim that it is only music, research has shown direct correlations between music videos and the viewers engaging in drug and alcohol use (Ashby, 2005). Alcohol is shown in the media often as a social experience and it is implied that if alcohol is not involved, it will not be a good time. This is a dangerous message to instill in high school age teens that are trying to find their identity in the world.

Another theme that often comes with music videos, especially in the era of heavy metal and “gangster rap”, is violence. Music videos have been under fire for a long time as a result of influencing young audiences to engage in violence. One such example of the media blaming violent content in music is the Columbine High School shooting. Many enraged parents and media outlets focused their sights on bands such as “Marilyn Manson” and “Eminem” for encouraging violence once they found out that the two students involved with the shooting, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were fans of this type of music. While many may argue that music has no influence on people’s behavior, research has shown that violent content in music videos, in fact, do have some part in the behavior of its viewers whether they realize it or not. One such study, in which three different groups of kids ranging in age from eleven to sixteen were showed non-violent rap videos, violent rap videos, and no video at all, showed that the subjects who were more exposed to the violent rap music videos were generally more aggressive in nature after viewing than the subjects not exposed to the content (Beullens, 2012). The reasoning being that watching the violent content made the viewers feel generally annoyed resulting in an aggressive attitude (Beullens, 2012).

Music videos also have a part in setting unrealistic goals for its viewers regarding body image. High school is a time of identifying and finding a place to fit into the world for adolescents. These teens are generally very conscious of their appearance and music videos are where a lot of these adolescents turn for help in finding their body image. Young women look at music videos and are given the message that if they are not unrealistically skinny or have perfect skin, then they are not seen as beautiful. This results in many eating disorders and very low self-esteem in these young individuals. One study showed that while a large group of ninth graders were not concerned at all with their body image or appearance, exposure to music videos that hold these themes in high regard made them feel self conscious about their weight and how others may see them (Ashby, 2005).

Music videos may also have effect on establishing proper gender roles. Most rap videos portray women as being sex symbols and inferior to men, often sending the message that if they are not attractive then they are not desirable. On the flip side, these music videos portray the men as being care free and that their primary role is to have fun and hang out with their buddies or pursue in chasing women. This is a very unhealthy image to instill in young viewers minds as this does not accurately show the way that the real world should work. One analysis of gender roles in music videos showed that men generally have stereotypical male occupations such as a police officer or soldier while females were shown as having very stereotypical female occupations such as a beautician, model, or dancer (Ashby, 2005).

It is safe to say that teens rely too heavily on the media to get their information. This is even more apparent with the internet being so accessible. Any teen today can watch literally any music video online and even follow their favorite artist’s life. These teens are establishing views and opinions based on what they learn from these artists of which they hold such high esteem. While it can be argued that parents should be more involved in their teen’s lives and teach them life lessons, these artists and music producers should be held accountable as well for what they teach these kids. The power of music is a very powerful thing and it should be handled a little more responsibly and used more as the artistic form that they started out as instead of a marketing tool.

References

Ashby, S. L., & Rich, M. (2005). Video killed the radio star: The effects of music videos on adolescent health. Adolescent Medicine Clinics, 16(2), 371-93, ix. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215206292
Beullens, K., Roe, K., & Van, d. B. (2012). Music video viewing as a marker of driving after the consumption of alcohol. Substance use & Misuse, 47(2), 155. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/918784564
Kalof, L. (1999). The effects of gender and music video imagery on sexual attitudes. The Journal of Social Psychology, 139(3), 378-385. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/199794687

Negative Impact Of Music Videos. (2009). Entertainment: Music, Movies, TV Series and

Lifestyle. Retrieved from http://bellconcerts.com/negative-impact-of-music-videos.html

Pelham, W. E., et. all (2011). Music and video as distracters for boys with ADHD in the classroom: Comparison with controls, individual differences, and medication effects. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39(8), 1085-98. doi:10.1007/s10802-011-9529-z

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