Week 9 Topic 1: Music Influence

Answering the question of what is my favorite music genre is always hard for me, as I enjoy multiple genres. If I were basing it on the concerts I have attended, I would say country is my favorite. My top five favorite artists are, George Strait, Tim Mcgraw, Craig Morgan, Carrie Underwood, and Blake Shelton.  Out of those five I have seen George Strait, Craig Morgan, and Carrie Underwood in concert.

From a young age I listened to any kind of music, and feel as if my parents didn’t put a lot of effort into “protecting” me from it. Due to the fact my sister is four years older than me, I often listened to music with profanity, sexual references, or other factors that some people may consider “corrupting influences”. Other than knowing a few cuss words to young, I feel like I turned out despite listening to popular music.  Even though I don’t remember being protected from some music, there are some instances where I have tried to protect those younger than me.

A time that I attempted to censor or protect someone younger than me from certain music is while working as a nanny. I was a nanny for two kids ages five and nine. They had an Ipod and often played with the app Musical.ly. This app allows users to create 15 seconds to a minute long videos with a soundtrack as the background. Allow the terms state user must be 13 years or older, it is easy for those younger to use it anyways. The app offers a variety of music, including songs not appropriate for the kids I was watching. Below is screen print of some songs offered:

So when I walked into the room to find them dancing to the song Bubble Butt, by Major Lazer (feat. Bruno Mars, 2 Chainz, Tyga & Mystic), I was immediately alarmed and told them to turn it off. At first I thought I made the right call by telling them to stop playing the songs, but then I started to think “ am I making a bigger deal out of this than it is?”. I think protecting someone or telling someone not to do something is always a little bit of a awkward a experience, but sometimes it is necessary.

I am sure there have been many times that I “crossed line” or “raised the eyebrows of others” with my music, but only one comes to mind. It was during my senior year of highschool and we were working on a group project in the cafeteria. A group of us were listening to music, and I honestly couldn't tell you what was even playing, but it didn't take long before a staff member rushed over. Being told turn off my music and telling someone to turn off theirs were both experiences that made me feel uncomfortable. As I stated before,  I think protecting someone or telling someone not to do something is always a little bit of a awkward a experience, but sometimes it is necessary. The same goes for being told what to do, uncomfortable but sometimes necessary.

Although I think I turned out fine listening to “corrupting music”, there are some studies and people who think otherwise.  An article I found on TeenSafe, discusses the question of if you should be monitoring your teens music. The article states that the average teen listens to over 2.5 hours of music every day and that nearly one in three popular songs contain explicit references to drug or alcohol use. Thus, having 2.5 hours of  references to self harm, sex, or other explicit topics can have a negative impact on a young child's mind. I believe that is pretty much impossible, and not always necessary, to completely protect and shield someone from “corrupting influences”. With that being said, I do believe that some monitoring should be in place. Such as restrictions for certain apps, artists and songs, based on age level of the child.