Impacts of Drugs in Popular Music and the Effects on Today’s Youth

Dear Parents,
The presence of drug use, themes and references in popular culture and music seems to increase with each year. Since the mid Twentieth century the drugs in music has risen. This began with rock and roll and has snowballed with each decade.  When popular music from 1988 is compared to 2008, a drastic rise in the percentage of drug references is visible. In 1988 the volume was 18% and grew to 30% over the twenty years.  These negative themes are reflected through society in the way in which today’s youth acts, and the societal ideals they develop and carry through life. Drug use among teens is increasing, and the age in which drug and substance use begins is decreasing. This means that more and more children are experimenting with drugs beginning at younger ages. The ideals and traits you want your children to develop in order to be the most successful and healthy members of society are challenged by the pop culture. Today what celebrities, athletes and high-ranking members of society say and do are unrelentingly documented by the press and broadcasted into our daily lives.
 A major way in which this happens is through the relationship between popular music and culture. Pop musicians have a strong voice when influencing the lives of your teenagers. Their messages and ideals are expressed through their music. This has both positive and negative aspects. The voice of someone famous can send messages of positivity as well as negativity or unhealthiness. This is reflected with teen drug use. Many pop artists today detail drug and substance use in their music or media. Many songs reference drugs, and many music videos depict scenes of parties or other types of events where substances are used. The sheer volume of media related to drugs and substance is overwhelming and creates exponentially greater forms of exposure for young people to experience as well as peer and societal pressure. Many scenes and references of drug use neglect the negative effects of drug use, and portray it as a normal or cool activity that anyone cool should do.
The age at which children are first exposed to these themes is already an impressionable age, but that number is dropping. Earlier and earlier children are exposed to more and more examples of the appearance of acceptable themes of drugs and substance use in pop culture. The younger that children experience drugs, the more harmful the effects. Addictions root faster and deeper, mental development can be harmed, and the physical damage is stronger. The use of alcohol before the age of twenty-one can be developmentally dangerous, and for young teenagers the potential for disaster is high; illicit drugs are no different. Alcohol can alter brain function until the brain is fully developed until your mid-twenties. Marijuana can cause memory and learning problems, ability to focus and problem solve. Depression and other mental conditions are linked as well. These effects can be carried throughout the rest of the user’s life.
With ever advancing technology the experience of listening to music has become very private through the use of earbuds and headphones. It is almost impossible to regulate and monitor what your children and listening to. Your children are using this to their advantage as they can now listen to inappropriate or edgier songs without the consequence of parental intervention. Now more than ever the ability to monitor and censor your children’s experiences in dwindling.
Drugs and other substances high prevalence in pop culture are negatively influencing the youth towards abuse. Marijuana use among teens is on the rise and the negative effects are becoming more present in youth culture. Partying has become a staple in popular media, and a sure-fire way to attract young viewers. In today’s society celebrities influence the public very much. Their ideas and actions are idolized by many young people, and then the actions are replicated in society. The presence of drugs in popular music needs to be diminished or the use of drugs will become normalized and an epidemic beyond control will arise.