How Do Music Lyrics Impact Teen Behavior

The question of how do music lyrics impact teen behavior has been a hot button topic ever since the advent of rock and roll. Here we take a look at the good, the bad, and unfortunately, the sometimes ugly world of music lyrics.

Music has long been a creative outlet for society's ills, general angst, and sometimes, even a call to arms. From the 1960’s general unrest, to NWA’s “Cop Killer”, we as a society, have seen and felt the impact of controversial lyrics.

A study conducted by the RAND Corporation and published in the Christian Science Monitor in 2006 found that teenagers who spent significant time listening to suggestive lyrics were more likely to become sexually active at a young age. This study and others suggest there is a link between lyrics that objectify women and glorify the sexual appetites of men, and the increased risks of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

Is this really the case? Does just listening to suggestive lyrics lead to higher rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases? Or can this increase in teen pregnancy be attributed to the documented scientific findings that girls are maturing at a rapid pace?

Recent findings confirm the onset of menstruation is now taking place as early as the age of nine, and in some cases even earlier. If girls are experiencing their first period at a substantially earlier rate, they may well become sexually active at an earlier age, but it's still not completely clear what role music plays in the equation.

Before moving on, let’s address another key point. Of late, say within the past ten years, this outcry of misogyny has focused more on rap music lyrics than those of other music genres. However, in the 1980’s, when heavy metal was the music of the day, Motley Crew’s Girls, Girls, Girls video featured nothing but strippers in birthday suits sliding down dance poles. Does anyone remember the video for Warrant’s Cherry Pie? It's lyrics and videos like these that inspired Tipper Gore to lead the charge for ratings on records and CD's.

Obviously, this is a hot button topic, one that everyone has an opinion about. As unlikely as it may seem there are some things that we can agree on, namely the role music lyrics can play in fostering some good in our society. Here are some examples:

• Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On (1971)

Marvin Gaye’s album What’s Going On provided context to a culture that seemed to be disintegrating right before our very eyes. From the civil rights movement, to the Vietnam War, to the plight of the poor, Marvin Gaye helped a generation deal with what seemed to be a never ending crisis of social consciousness.

• The Beatles' All You Need Is Love (1967)

The Fab Four rocked the minds and warmed the hearts of a generation the world over, but it was when All You Need Is Love became the anthem of the anti-war movement that the power of music was truly felt. Say what you will about the Baby Boom generation, but they understood the inherent power of music, and they were using it to change the world.

Examples plucked from headlines through the years:

• The Columbine shooting and the subsequent blaming of Marilyn Manson's music.
• Two male teens kidnap a young girl in the early 1990’s and claim that Nirvana’s PennyRoyal Tea put the idea in their heads.
• Teens commit suicide, and Ozzy Osbourne's lyrics to Suicide Solution are blamed.

Our history is littered with circumstances such as these. Every time one of these terrible incidents rears its ugly head, it seems that the music and performers of that music are the ones we blame, not the bullies at school, not the parents, nor the guns and depression.

At the end of the day, it is up to us as a society to decide just who is to blame for these tragic instances. Keep in mind however, that there was a time when even Elvis’s hips were considered incendiary, and a serious threat to good moral people everywhere.

An example of life imitating art, or vice versa: NWA Straight Outta Compton (1989)

Although admittedly steeped in controversy, this CD shined a light on the reality of police brutality in a way that, up to that point, had never been covered in the mainstream media. Was this album filled with truthful lyrics and sometimes searing realities? Roll the footage of the 1992 LA riots if you're in doubt. Did it also play an incendiary role in the violence? We can only guess.

So, how do music lyrics impact teen behavior? An educated hypothesis would postulate that it is just one of the many factors that influence the way teens think and act. The human experience, and therefore our behavior, reflects our own backgrounds and society at large.

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