When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to listen to the radio. (Yes, I essentially lived Footloose, people.) Even as a kid I remember thinking this was dumb--I mean, if I sang "Seduce me tonight" from the Flashdance soundtrack, it wasn't like I really meant it, I just liked the song. I thought of this when I paused, hearing my six-year-old warble, "Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me" the other day. But perhaps I ought to be listening harder for the drugs, man.
A new study found that a third of popular American songs today have references to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, and two-thirds of those are positive references, associating substances with good times. Oh yeah, and rap was number one in this, and country was number two. In fact, the lead author says, "It's not going to be feasible or even desirable to censor these
messages. Probably a more
empowering approach is to teach kids to analyze and evaluate the
messages for themselves." So there you go. Talk to your kids, don't go Footloose. You heard it hear first.
By the way, are you worried?
