Considering Content

How old were you when you began wanting to make decisions on your own, outside of your parents’ rule? Fifteen? Thirteen? Ten?

I can’t remember exactly how old I was. I suppose I was thirteen or fourteen when my friends started watching different movies or listening to new music genres. The difference between me and my friends was that I was a follower—I did things out of peer pressure, to fit in. Most of my friends took on a leadership position; they went out there and made choices because they initially wanted to.

When young people get into that preteen stage, it is perfectly normal for them to want to move outside of the boundaries a bit, to roam free from under their parent’s protective shelter. They want to be “free” and have “more space”.

This is just part of the growing experience to figure out what kind of people we want to be in life. Most teenagers will admit that one thing they consider on a regular basis is their future: figuring out their identity or life’s calling.

But along with that natural push for freedom comes all the responsibility with deciding what to believe religiously, ethically, economically, etc. And in today’s society, what could better influence our young people other than devoted family and friends?

You guessed it: media.

Movies, television, music, books, social media sites, internet—everything that portrays some form of information, whether it is meant to be educational or not, is reaching out towards young people who are searching for an identity to adopt.

So as I mentioned yesterday, what are you allowing them to absorb?

I can right off the bat think of some very harmful forms of content that can, and sadly do, influence young people in a bad way. I’m sure a few have popped up in your mind as well.

I know I’ve talked a lot about the film and television industry so far, so let’s change gears a bit. Let’s talk about music.

Music is a wonderful gift. Aside from face-to-face contact and intimate relationships with people, music is one way that we can relate on a deep level. Every culture, every country, every person on planet Earth has some form of music. Whether it is the travelling rock band in New York, the bagpipes and penny whistles in Scotland, or the drums and marimbas in Africa, everyone identifies with some form of music.

Music reaches into the souls of people where they can feel a fiery passion not often felt in other experiences. Music can make you laugh, cry, smile, squeal like a little girl with your friends in your dorm room…

Rejoice with Rapunzel that you finally understand your Spanish homework, “And at last I see the light!”

Let’s be honest here; I’m not the only one.

Music brings out the deepest of emotions in us, and a broad range of emotions at that. Human beings love music.

So music is not a bad thing.

But what about music content? That’s a whole different ballgame.

People have different music preferences. I have some friends who like rap or rock, I personally loathe those. I like country, pop and I occasionally borrow random songs from other genres, but in regards to content, what is the difference between genres besides style and instrument choice?

In all honesty, there is no difference. This is how many people consider this topic: rock music is really, really bad because they sing about immoral things, so I choose to listen to country instead. However, a country singer can promote immoral things in his or her music just as easily! Just because they don’t use electric guitars and scream the lyrics into the microphone does not mean the content is less inappropriate.

As I stated, I love listening to country. But I am very careful when choosing the songs I listen to. I choose not to listen to music talking about drugs, drinking, premarital or extramarital sex, or if there is swearing in the lyrics.

But let’s say hypothetically that I did listen to a country song promoting some of these issues, but I also stated that I am not only against these things, but also hate any music that promotes them regularly and unabashedly, such as rap. What’s the difference? Both pieces are promoting the act; the way the music is played or how the lighting is in the music video does not make a difference.

Now let’s apply this to growing teenagers. Since teenagers are oftentimes trying to be cool or just find things that they like or agree with, they tend to listen to popular music that their friends listen to. If the majority of the music they listen to, regardless of the genre, promotes a particular belief or action, they soon believe that there is nothing wrong with it.

Instruments aren’t wrong. Music is not wrong. It is the content in music that will come back around to bite us if we are not careful. So encourage your ever-growing babies who are no longer babies to listen to music that promotes a careful, appropriate lifestyle.

And for those of us who are in college, consider what you listen to. What kind of worldly ideas are you finding acceptable according to your music choices?

What content are you absorbing?