Sex, Drugs in modern music
How inappropriate is modern music?According to the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, quite a bit. Researchers analyzed Billboard magazine’s top 279 most popular songs of 2005 to determine what percentage of songs referenced tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. Here are some highlights from their findings:
- 1 in 3 songs portray substance use (33.3%)
>> 4 in 5 rap songs (77%)
>> 1 in 3 country songs (36%)
>> 1 in 5 R&B/hip-hop songs (20%)
>> 1 in 7 rock songs (14%)
>> 1 in 10 pop songs (9%) - 1 in 25 songs have antiuse messages (4%)
- The average adolescent is exposed to approximately 84 references to explicit substance use daily in popular songs, and this exposure varies widely by musical genre.
Although the study did not analyze the frequency of sex and violence in popular music, 46% of substance use references were associated with sex, and 29% were associated with violence. This should come as no surprise to youth pastors. But it is surprising from the perspective that the average teenager hears 588 messages a week about substance use compared to one message a week from the youth group. A youth pastor better make his message count.
davidtjordan said,
February 13, 2008 at 1:17 pm
This is unbelievable! We need to intercede for our youth like never before! They’re getting it from every side. One more reason we need to engage our culture with the Good News! Thanks for the post!!
dj