لخّصلي

Many kids pass through a rebellious phase in middle school. If the teacher asks them to stop throwing pencils, they toss one more. If the sign reads “No Trespassing,” they cross the line. If they hear theirfather listening to classical music, they tune in to rap and punk rock. Thisis exactly what I did,although I now look back with regret on my actions. Having matured significantly since my middleschool days, I understand the negative effect that explicit lyrics have on youth, and I believe suchmusic should be off-limits until the age of sixteen.
Currently, the government takes a rather laissez-faire attitude with regard to the musicindustry. Thousands of albums are readily available to young people regardless of explicit content. Infact, the main control mechanism for protecting youthful consumers from harmful content comesfrom the recording companies themselves. Under the Parental Advisory campaign of the RecordingIndustry Association of America (RIAA), it is the responsibility of artists and record labelsthemselves to decide if their albums should receive the infamous “Parental Advisory: ExplicitContent” label. Children are allowed to purchase the albums regardless (“Parental Advisory Label”).
This lack of regulation would not be a problem if the music did not produce negative effectson its listeners. Although it is difficult to prove statistically that music full of hateful content fuelssimilar attitudes in its listeners, it requires only common sense to understand why. That is, people areinfluenced by what they think about. If a child thinks, for example, that he is unimportant or unloved,then he will act out in various ways to gain attention from his peers. Problem thinking is a result of avariety of influ- ences, including friends, parents, and the media. Negative music, if listened tofrequently enough, naturally implants negative thoughts in the minds of its listeners.
Furthermore, consider the unique influence of music as opposed to other forms of media.Unlike movies, video games, and magazines, music has a way of saturating one’s mind. Everyoneknows the feeling of having a song “stuck” in their head, repeating itself throughout the day. Unlikea movie, which is seen once, discussed among friends, and then forgotten, a song can remain lodgedin one’s mind for weeks on end. And if the songs are steeped in content such as violence againstwomen, happiness found in harmful drugs, and hatred of the police, these themes will continue rever-berating in the minds of the listener, slowly desensitizing them to otherwise repulsive ideas.Becoming numb to such ideas is the first step toward passively agreeing with them or even personally acting upon them.
Whereas adults can usually listen to such music with no behavioral ramifications, children arefar more susceptible to its subtle influence. With less experience of life, a lower level of maturity, anda lack of long-term thinking, young people are prone to make impulsive decisions. Providing themwith access to music that fuels negative and harmful thoughts isa dangerous decision. We live in anage where violent tragedies such as school shootings are increasingly commonplace. Although various factors contribute to such acts of violence, hatred-themed music is likely a part of the equation. Therefore, given the influential power of music and the heightened effect it can have on those still in the developmental stage of their lives, young people should have limited access to musicwith explicit lyrics.