I definitely think that record companies should put warning labels/parental advisories on the music they distribute. I think that if some ground rules were enforced, and that record companies were forced to rate the music that was distributed, than a lot of the youth would not be so exposed to the negative material in the songs that they listen to. Also, if the music was rated for adult content, then maybe the radio stations would not be allowed to play certain songs, and our kids would not have to be exposed to the negative lyrics. But for that to happen, some rules and a rating system would actually have to be enforced.
But, just like movies that are rated “R”, underage kids can still sneak in, or have their older friends buy them tickets for the movie. Just because something is given a rating, does not mean that the youth are going to listen to those ratings, or even care about them. Back in the days where people still bought CD’s and IPods® and other MP3 players did not exist, than the warning labels might have been affective. Putting warning labels and/or having a rating system today would not be so effective these days, since MP3 players are so prevalent in this generation and music is readily available for anyone, everywhere. There is no age limit for buying music online. You can pretty much buy any song you have ever heard of and the youth of today would not care if there was an ‘adult content’ warning on the music they buy.
If parents were cautious about what music their children listened to, then that would be an effective way to eliminate the “bad” music from their playlists. Parents should have there own rating system, and rate the songs that the kids are hearing. All you need is some enforcement, and the youth would not be exposed to such negative lyrics.
All that being said, I do not think that music has a bad enough effect on the youth and that we should not be so concerned about what they listen to. Yes, there are some horrible songs out there that I would not let my children listen to, but the main thing is that the youth of today like to express themselves through music. Whatever they listen to is important for them to “find themselves” and identify with other people.
I agree that at one point in time, a few years ago or more, the Parental Advisory labels stuck on CDs were useful. But those days are well behind us now. Just like you said, with the technology we have available now, there is not even a need to buy CDs anymore, let alone have a warning label on them. Even the few labels that still remain on CDs are so small now and so ignored that they are not even worth the paper that they were printed on. Young people will listen to just about anything they want to, but that is not to say that parents or guardians need to give up on having some control. I was able to sneak a few hard rock discs into my house when I was in junior high, but my parents were quick to snap them in half as soon as they found out (even though they were the edited versions). I didn't even know why I was rebelling, all I knew was my parents said "You can't listen to this kind of music," so of course I ran out and bought the CD with my allowance. You have a good idea about parents "proof-listening" to their kids' music, but at the same time, it is so easy to hide files on a computer now, so even that may not work out right.
ReplyDeleteI like what you had to say about helping them “find themselves.” Isn’t music really about self-expression anyways? I think some of pop music these days is beginning to lose of its regard to the importance of lyrics. It’s like they only want to create a good hook to sell more albums.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a pretty good understanding of what kids are going through by saying they want to identify with other people. That is so true and music shouldn’t get all the responsibility for how kids identify themselves. Most kids I know are all into sports, school, and video games of course. Music does have an influence on them but I think their friends and family play the most important part of their lives. People should not solely focus on the music the kids are listening to but rather get involved with them and find other ways to spark their interest. I really feel bad for those kids that all they have is that song they listen to that helps them cope. If they really had some good people around them to show them the many other positive creative outlets they could enjoy, it would really help them through the difficult times of adolescence.
Kelllli, I agree on what you said “record companies should put warning labels/parental advisories on the music they distribute”. This is unquestionable thing, but here is the problem, most of the time they don’t take due consideration in doing their assignment or if they do they may over look some instances which we think are inappropriate for young age. Let me tell you a good example, me and my son were watching Toy Story 3, I really liked it but I am surprised that it is rated as “G”. In my understanding “G” means for “General audiences”, the film supposed to depict this label for all kids to watch. But some of the scenes are frightening and tense especially scenes towards the end I mean a long, scary scene. I think in some record companies’ money worth more than anything. From that I learned that, we shouldn’t trust what is labeled, we should take careful steps in letting our kids watch or hear.
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