April 16, 2008 06:39 pm

Cut and paste version of story Photos Mat Anderson is the staff writer and research specialist at The Bridge in Joplin. For more information visit futureparadigm.org. Submitted Photo / Mat Anderson

Parents should take interest in teens’ music

Parenting column: By engaging teens through music, parents are given a valuable opportunity to peer into the life of their teen.

By Mat Anderson
CNHI News Service

— Regardless of the generation, parents and teens have always clashed about music.
When I was growing up, my parents thought the music I listened to was loud and obnoxious and I thought theirs was stodgy and boring. Today, parents and teens are still entrenched in a battle over music, and recent research has fanned the flames of this conflict.
A study conducted by RAND, a nonprofit think tank, found that teens start having sex sooner if their preferred music has sexually degrading lyrics. The researchers suggested that degrading music offers teens a “script” for how to behave in ambiguous situations. Repeated exposure to such scripts may cause teens to act out stereotyped gender roles.
Additionally, a new study by the American Public Health Association found that one in three of the most popular songs of 2005 contained lyrics that portrayed drug and alcohol use. Researchers went on to report a direct connection between teens who listened to those songs and teens who engage in substance abuse.
For parents of teens, these facts can be frightening. Fortunately, parents have the ability to significantly reduce the influence of music on their teens. One of the primary reasons that teens emulate the behaviors found in media is because they are searching for answers about what is acceptable and normal in regard to issues like sex and substance use. When clear guidance from parents is not present in the lives of teens, they may look to lyrics that they connect with for direction.
In response, parents may want to focus less on controlling what teens listen to and more on understanding why they listen to it. Young people have a tremendous amount of connection with the music they listen to. It is, in many ways, the soundtrack for their life. By engaging teens through music, parents are given a valuable opportunity to peer into the life of their teen. Parents can understand the thoughts and feelings of their teen by listening to the messages they are drawn to in music.
Through this knowledge parents can address lyrics about sex, violence, drugs and alcohol and teach teens to guard against the destructive themes and messages found in our culture. As a result, teens will no longer look to song lyrics and artists they connect with for direction. Instead, they will be equipped with the guidance of a loving parent whom they have connected with.
Additionally, parents should encourage teens to get involved in programs like youth groups that will positively influence them on a relational level.
It is important for parents to recognize that popular music is often a reflection of our culture and society. By experiencing music together with teens, rather than simply trying to control what they listen to, parents can gain understanding about how their child sees the world while teaching valuable moral lessons. These simple actions can make all the difference in the life of a teen, because the guidance of engaged and interested parents remains the most vital influence in the lives of teens.

Mat Anderson is the staff writer and research specialist at The Bridge in Joplin, Mo. His column appears in The Joplin Globe. For more information visit futureparadigm.org.