Rap turning youth violent?

People may argue that rap music is sending youth in the wrong direction with the sexual and violent lyrics. But, not many know that hip hop/rap music is being used as a therapeutic practice for "high-risk clients." It's called Hip Hop Social Work. It may seem like hip hop and social work wouldn't go together at all, but Lauren Collins, a therapist who has an MSW from Hunter College's Graduate School of Social Work. Collins says, "Hip hop provides a comfortable forum for honest self-examination while helping participants find their way along the path to personal growth." Even though hip hop and rap music is said to be ruining young people's minds and lifestyles, it's also helping people who need that way of expression.

The Seattle Times tells how Fans turn away from rap's violence. Are record sales declining because the public is tired of nasty lyrics? It's possible that parents are tired of their children listening rhymes that make no sense but to set them on the wrong path. Also, how many times can you rap about drugs before it gets old?

Many social disturbings are being blamed on rappers and their songs, as well. Jason Whitlock wrote on AOL that the disruption at the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas should give the blame to "hip hop hoodlums". He proceeded to say that the game should be moved out of country for a couple years, to keep the "hoodlums" out and let them find another gathering to ruin. David Banner, a famous rapper with the hit "Like a Pimp," argues that this is the type of music America wants to hear. Should we allow that to be an excuse: America wants to hear about cocaine, weed, sexual addictions, alcohol, and killings. Or is it just that young Americans are hearing it only because that's what "makes them cool."

Rappers turning youth violent?

As young people listen to the newest hits on the radio stations, they tend to not only like the song but like the artist. Today's youth is becoming influenced greatly by the lyrics and artists they hear. The unfortunate part is what the lyrics are really saying. Rappers talk about drugs, gangs, violence, sex, and more explicit lifestyles. The way they lure in young people is by wealth, according to Charles Duncan, at Associatedcontent.com. "When you multiply the effect by hearing that crime pays I am standing here as living proof, a dangerous patter begins to emerge," says Duncan. Young people have the easiest access to this vulgarity, due to Mp3 players, iPods, and YouTube. Tara Parker-Pope states, "Nearly 9 out 10 adolescents or teens have an Mp3 player or a compact disc player in their bedrooms," in Under the Influence of...Music? Music is a huge part of lives today. It's rare to run across a car without a radio or CD player. Also, TV has specified certain channels that play only music. Such a wide variety of music sources, gives youth easier opportunities to listen to their favorite Kanye or Lil Wayne song. But really, what is this making out of society's young people? They are hearing in every lyric how to smoke the right weed, or what kind of clothes they should wear. These are not the only things wrong with rappers lyrics today, but just a few. Not only are you what you eat, but it's proven you could be what you listen to, according to Project Muse.

Beware of Video Game Violence

Mature Video Game Rating-wikimedia commons

Being a gamer, I keep up with all the latest games and gaming trends. Playing games has been a hobby of my friends and I ever since we could understand what hobbies were. That being said, it is no surprise to me that video games has become a dominate industry. Video games have gone from being rather simple to highly sophisticated and realistic. Scott Steinberg puts this in perspective in his article "Why new music video games rock". Steinberg talks about all of the new features for the games that allow the player to feel like he or she is actually playing an instrument or singing on a stage. For all those out there who remember the games from generations past, these new add ons make the older games look prehistoric. Not only has technology for video games become more advanced, but competition has become fiercer as well. Of all video games on the market, the most popular games are those that make violence the center point. Ben Parfitt's "Modern Warfare 2 Still rules Xbox Live" gives a good example of the type of competition that takes place in the gaming market. The example given is the rivalry between Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Halo Reach. These two games rival each other for the top position on the video game charts. In both game plays the player has to kill the enemy to win. With the massive success of games like these, it can be hard to see what these types of games are doing to society.

Are young people who play violent video games more hostile than those who play video games with a different theme?  Kristin Kalning addresses this question head on in her article "Does game violence make teens aggressive?" this article provides information from a study conducted by the researchers of the Indiana University School of Medicine. This study consisted of two groups of twenty-two adolescents; one group played a violent video game, while the other played a racing game. The results of this study were that the brains of the children who played the violent game suffered negative effects in the emotional area of the brain, whereas, those who played the racing game the negative results were not present. With video games becoming more realistic and the violence seemingly becoming more real the negative effects mentioned are only going to get worse unless this dispersal of violence is stopped.

In her article, "Do You Know What Video Games Your Children Are Playing?" Pamela Eakes, who is a supporter for Mothers Against Violence in America, says that 90 percent of parents do not monitor the ratings on their children's games. If the parents don't monitor what is going on, how can anyone expect the kids to know if what they are playing is bad for them? Violence in games are destroying the mentality of  young people, so are we really going to let these childrem keep playing something we know that will hurt them?