Introduction

The main objective of this research is to state the effects of pop music (and music videos) to overall well being of children and teens. This paper will focus on the negative side, on two major fields: Behavior (including health) and Interpersonal relations.

I picked 10 current Pinoy music videos of varied genres. I formulated a mini questionnaire and let random children and teens answer it. It took me almost 3 weeks to gather information and make conclusions.

I chose to do a research on the effects of listening and watching pop music/music videos because me, myself is an avid listener and viewer of pop music. It will be much easier for me to do a research if I choose a topic, which is very relatable/close to my heart and to my being. And also, the reading assigned to me in the class, which is an experiment to pop music video viewers and its effects to gender and sexuality of teenagers, influenced me to do this paper. Below is the actual survey questionnaire that I gave to 8-20 year old children and teens, to be followed by an explanation of why I chose those kinds of questions.

Questionnaire

1. State your gender: _____M _____F

2. Age range: _____5-12 _____13-25 _____26-30

3. Do you watch music videos? _____Yes _____No

4. How often do you watch music videos? _________Hours

5. Where do you watch music videos? _____TV _____Phone/iPod _____Youtube

6. Do you like to see dance routines within a music video? _____Yes _____No
Why? ________________________________________________________________

7. Do you eat while watching the TV? _____Yes _____No

8. Do you study while watching the TV? _____Yes _____No

9. What genre of music do you prefer to listen to? _____Pop _____Rock _____Classical _____Dance _____Country _____RnB _____Hip-hop

10. Do you prefer music videos that use special effects? _____Yes _____No Why? _______________________________________________________________

11. What is your personal favorite music video? _____________________________

12. Does music videos influence you? _____Yes _____No If yes, how? __________________________________________________________

Behind the questions…
1. I actually asked more females to answer the questionnaire because I thought more females would watch music videos.
2. I chose to ask this question because I wanted to see if a difference in age would make a difference in what music videos people watch and if I put this question and question # 11 together it shows that age doesn’t really have a massive effect of what people watch because the quite older generations are watching the modern videos as well and actually enjoying them.
3. Do you watch music videos? This just shows how much of the population actually watch music videos now and it has become a trend and something cool to do.
4. How often do you watch music videos? Approximately half of the people I asked said that they watch music videos on a daily basis this gives us an indication of the role that music videos have in a daily routine. It becomes part of someone's life if you do something everyday like brushing your teeth.
5. Where do you watch music videos? This question gives me a great indication of the impact of satellite television and Internet because it shows that the majority of people now has satellite TV and Internet connection (everywhere!) and tends to watch the music channels that come with it.
6. Do you like to see dance routines within a music video? Over the years I think there has been a dramatic increase in the role of dance in music videos. People now want to see this art in their music videos and reasons for this is that; people appreciate the good dancing within a music video, people think its exciting to see a dance routine, people say it looks good when being performed, some people like to see a dance routine so they can get ides for themselves to copy and create new dance routines.
7. Do you eat while watching TV? I just wanted to know how eating while watching TV somehow affects one’s health.
8. Do you study while watching TV? I also wanted to know how studying while watching TV somehow affects their study habits and its effects.
9. What genre of music do you prefer to listen to? I actually was just curious, so I put this question.
10. Do you prefer music video’s that use special effects? Technology has increased dramatically over the years and due to this the want for special effects has become increasingly larger. Over half of the people asked said they would like to see special effects in a music video some of their reasons are; some people say it makes it more interesting because they can have whatever background they like, some say it avoids the video being boring and some say it makes the video look more professional.

11. What is your personal favorite music video? For this question I just wanted to put people on the spot and wanted them to think of there favorite music video. Some of the outcomes reflect on what people tend to watch no matter what there age or gender. From the results most of them are fairly recent but one iconic video was chosen by some of them.
12. Do music videos have an influence on you? I asked this question because from this I could also get an understanding of if people are active listeners or passive listeners because if you are an active listener you are less likely to be influenced by the music video as active means you just tend to have it on in the background whereas passive is when you actually sit and watch and connect with the music.

For better or for worse, TV is now an integral part of most teens' lives. Whereas years ago, especially in the Filipino household, parents would limit TV time to an hour or so at night, many teens now have TV sets in their bedrooms and can watch as much TV as they want. As the amount of TV that teens watch increases, the content of TV shows is also changing. This combination is causing serious negative effects on the overall well being of teens.

Music is an essential part of growing up and helps shape one’s personality. It has always played an important role in learning and the communication of culture. Children learn from what their role models do and say. For many years, some children's television very effectively used the combination of words, music and fast-paced animation to achieve learning. Most parents are concerned about what their young children see and hear, but as children grow older, parents pay less attention to the music and videos that capture and hold their children's interest. Unfortunately, television networks have used music to manipulate the youth into believing certain cultural and gender stereotypes.

Music Videos have defined contemporary culture, maybe, the last 50 years. The mass appeal of the art form brings with it both advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, it inspires, entertains and stimulates, while on the flip side it can inculcate unsavory behaviors and attitude among the youth.
Several studies indicate a correlation between music videos and violent behavior of adolescents. The findings also show a connection between the imagery displayed in the videos and inappropriate sexual attitudes and conduct. The lyrics tend to have a significant corrupting influence on the youth. Particular genres such as hip-hop, gangsta rap and heavy metal are found to be more damaging to children than the rest. The racial attitudes and interpersonal relations of teenagers can be influenced by the music they watch.
The majority of music video fans are teenagers and young adults, who are at an impressionable period of their lives. The youngsters can turn out to be anti-social if they idolize their attractive music stars, whose life-style is regarded as “extreme” and “on the edge”. To be fair, most role models are beneficial. The youth need a little bit of discretion in ignoring that minority of “stars”, who are more notorious than famous. If such discretion is not exercised the anti-social behavior exhibited by the stars tends to get treated as the norm, which can have severe consequences in the personal lives of the followers. The violence acted out will be perceived as heroic. What is required is a more realistic portrayal of violence, which will show how ugly and undesirable aggression is and will serve to thwart similar behavior in the viewers.

A concern to many interested in the development and growth of teenagers is the negative and destructive themes of some kinds of music (rock, heavy metal, hip-hop, etc.), including best-selling albums promoted by major recording companies. The following themes, which are featured prominently in some lyrics, can be particularly troublesome: drugs and alcohol abuse that is glamorized, suicide as an "alternative" or "solution”, graphic violence, sex which focuses on control, sadism, masochism, incest, children devaluing women, and violence toward women.

According to my research (survey), 8- to 20-year-olds spends, on average, four hours every day watching TV. These hours add up to drastic numbers over the course of a year and over the course of a lifetime. Not only are teens seeing countless hours of TV, but they also spend time in school talking about TV shows, and they see magazine and billboard ads about TV shows.

2A big chunk of adolescent television viewing is taken by music videos and there is a reason – it captures the young viewer’s attention by powerfully engaging their emotions. For example, teenagers form nearly three fourths of MTV viewer-ship and they spend, on average, 6 hours a week watching the channel. As much as 22% of the programming contained depictions of violence. Of these videos, 63% of the violent acts are performed by young adults. This strong relation between media violence and real-life violence raises some serious concerns about the effects they have on the perceptions of adolescents as to what is normally safe and how to secure it. (Rich, Woods, et. al. 1998)

Threat Posed by the Lyrics:
The song lyric has been an important medium of thought for centuries. The lyric is also a simpler of poetry, with its own aesthetic appeal. Its simplicity and unique aesthetic appeal had easily enabled it to enter the public discourse – and one has to admit that the world is better for it. And as with any art form, the music lyric had also evolved over the years.
1“Such lyrics are of special concern in today’s environment, which poses unprecedented threats to the health and well-being of adolescents. Pregnancy, drug use, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (and other sexually transmitted diseases), injuries, homicide, and suicide have all become part of the landscape of everyday life for many American teens.” (Pediatrics 1996) I strongly believe that Filipino teens are slowly getting into that kind of everyday life landscape.
Effects on Interpersonal Relations:
Music has long been associated romantic love – an elevating feeling no doubt. But alongside the agreeable, there has also been a steady output of music with questionable effects on male-female relationships. Teenagers’ approach to conflict resolution is potentially vulnerable to the impact of music video depictions.
2If the sheer volume of violence in music videos is not bad enough the manner in which it is portrayed undermines interpersonal relationships and hence regarded as critical factors in children’s health and risk behaviors. (Rich, Woods, et. al. 1998)

Risky Behavior
Music videos nowadays also promote risky behavior in teens. My experiment explains that on music videos, teens and adults are often portrayed doing drugs, smoking, drinking and having premarital sex. This encourages teens that watch to participate in the same types of risky behavior. Teens who watch TV shows that portray a lot of sex are more likely to have premarital sex than those who don't watch those types of shows. Teens who watch five or more hours of TV a day, I suppose, are also more likely to smoke than those with limited TV time.

1The formats of music videos are universally popular among children and young adults. When the lyrics are run as subtitles in the videos, their impact is increased manifold. Even if they don’t understand or recognize the lyrics, they cannot avoid the associations therein, both implicit and explicit. Moreover, the videos are self-reinforcing – the mind automatically does a flashback to the video just at a mere hint of the song tune ever after. The music video is thus a powerful psychological tool. Unfortunately, the format had now become a breeding ground for sexism, substance abuse and risky sexual behavior. (Pediatrics 1996)
Hip-hop
Of late, hip-hop has captured the imagination of listeners. Hip-hop is an unconventional music form that requires a lot of originality and talent on part of the performers. The current popularity of hip-hop is a welcome addition to the rich body of music. But a note of caution – studies indicate that adolescents who listen to hip hop and rap are more likely to drug addiction and aggressive behavior than those who listen to other genres such as country, folk or western.
1Most teenagers think of their favorite songs as about innocuous and acceptable themes. But, a significant few display a radical attitude toward their music. Studies have shown that a preference for heavy metal music has strong implications for “alienation, substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, suicide risk, sex-role stereotyping, or risk-taking behaviors during adolescence.” (Pediatrics 1996)
Health
TV shows in general are full of character stereotypes. The characters in music videos nowadays have unrealistic body types: men with muscular builds and women with extremely thin frames. This causes teens to become dissatisfied with their own bodies. Some TV shows also show stereotypes about specific races and religions, which can shape the way teens think. Obesity is another negative effect of teens watching too much TV. Teens who spend a lot of time watching TV typically do not spend enough time being physically active. Therefore, teens that watch a lot of TV shows tend to have higher body mass indexes and greater risks of obesity.

CONCLUSION
People can use music to express themselves, in ways it can’t be expressed through behavior, or art. You can usually tell how someone’s feeling by the type of music he or she is listening to at the time. It’s a tool used by many. Groups of people around the world can come together and gather at concerts, shows, and venues to show what their interests and likings are and you see how many people have similar likings as you.

I can personally relate to the effects that music has on its listeners and users because it’s a big part of my life. Every day I listen to the words and sounds of different singers/bands with contrasting ideas and opinions. The music I listen makes me who I am.

As I sit in front of my TV watching MTV, I ask myself do these music videos have an adverse effect on the younger generation. It can be different artists and different songs, but these videos always have the same concept. Several guys at a club or a party dancing around with half naked women dropping it like it’s hot. Lets face it. The people who mostly watch these videos are preteens, teenagers, and people in their early twenties. The impact that these videos have had on the younger generation is obvious.

Several different strategies by older people (parents!) can reduce the risks of their teens watching too much TV (MTV!) I recommend turning the TV off during meals so that your teen has healthy conversations with the family. You can also set schedules for TV time--for example, only allowing your teen to watch any two TV shows of his choice per day.

You can also help them by paying attention to your teenager's purchasing, downloading, listening and viewing patterns, and by helping them identify music that may be destructive. An open discussion without criticism may be helpful. Music is not usually a danger for a teenager whose life is balanced and healthy. But if a teenager is persistently preoccupied with music that has seriously destructive themes, and there are changes in behavior such as isolation, depression, alcohol or other drug abuse, evaluation by a qualified mental health professional should be considered.

Bibliography

1“Impact of music lyrics and music videos on children and youth (RE9144). (American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Communications).” Pediatrics 98.n6 (Dec 1996): 1219(3).
2Rich, Michael, Elizabeth R. Woods, Elizabeth Goodman, Jean Emans, and Robert H. DuRant. ”Aggressors of victims: gender and race in music video violence.” Pediatrics 101.n4 (April 1998): 669(6).