Violence In the Media

I recently found infromation on violence in rap music and its affect on America's youth. The book is called Violence In the Media, and has a section devoted entirely to violence in music, both negative and positive view points. The specific article in the book is called "Heavy Metal Rock and Gangsta Rap Music Promote Violence," by Barbara Hattemer and Rober Showers.
In one part, the authors comment on the amount of music kids listen too in comparison to TV and other activities. The author states that kids watch a little over three hours a day of TV, and listen to music a surprsingly high four to six hours a day. This was hard to believe at first, but then I began to think how much I listen to music, and is seemed more realistic. It's amazing that kids find that much time in their daily schedule to listen to music that long. This again proves that music is one of the most popular and influencial types of entertainment for Ameria's youth. The article goes on to say that: "Although the effects of the lyrics are virtually untested, teenagers have more sustained contact with heavy metal music than they have with either pornography or horror films." It continues with: "Dr. Paul King found it to be correlated with increased chemical dependence, violence, stealing, and sexual acrivity. Reflecting hedonism (pleasure-seeking) and irresponsibility, rock music is symbolic of the clash of values between parents and their children. Described as "primitive" and inciting "baser passions", it reflects youth "at odds with adult society." (according to Larson and Robert Kubey)
This article provided many facts to support the claim that violent music promotes violence and other issues in America's youth, and gave some new insight on the topic of my blog.