You see it everywhere people of all age groups, driven by one common passion, one common interest this being music. I think it can be one of the most important things to people; it can depend on many things, for instance your friends, what you talk about etc. The role models that the bands, groups and artists provide for the youth of today are highly respected and influential. I mean for example, if you go to a gig the level of conformity is immense. Whatever the band asks the audience 90% of the crowd conform to what is being said, like if a member of the band asked the crowd to start a pit, most of the people conform to this. Speaking from personal experience and I think that a lot of other people can relate to the fact that many people in the music industry are huge role models for us. I think that in some cases we can strongly associate with their feelings and connect with what they’ve been through. Whilst on the subject of role models, I think that they definitely inspire young people to take an active role musically. They can inspire people to start bands and sing publicly etc.

Now ever days I think that music has become so much more than just listening to the bands/artist. It becomes a fashion statement; I’d even go so far to say it’s a way of life for some people. I mean you can walk through any town/city and you see many teenagers in band t-shirts, hoodies, etc. this shows how much music means to them that they are wearing artists t-shirts. This doesn’t even take into account those whom love the music but chose not to wear the clothing.

With regards to in the influence of music it’s so wide spread across different cultures, genres, genders, etc. I’m not an expert on all of the types of music and in what ways they influence people. However in some cases rap music/culture can be highly influence young people. It can do this in similar ways aforementioned for instance influencing the way that people act and dress. In some cases this can be a negative way because the media portrays the rap culture to be all about guns and fighting. I think that some easily influenced youths could react in a negative way.

I think the way that pop music can influence people (especially girls) can be highly negative. If you look at how female artists are portrayed by the media, you can see that they are all really thin and pretty. If they are seen as role models this can influence the way in which people see themselves they could strive to be this ‘prefect’ image that the media shows. In extreme cases this could lead to eating disorders and self-harm. This is a generalisation however and can be argued that not all pop artists have this ‘perfect’ image portrayed.

Music has a powerful effect on people, we can see this when someone’s favourite band/artist puts on a show mass crowds go and see them. It’s like a room filled with people all having one common passion, the music that they love. I think that my arguments support the fact that music is highly influential in youth culture. How do you think music influences you?

© 1997-2004 Freeway
Writers: Lauren Bell (sp06-02@park.se).
HTML by: Richard Norefjord (te05-47@park.se).