TESTIMONY
of the
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS
on
THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF MUSIC VIOLENCE
before the
SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT
OF GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT, RESTRUCTURING, AND
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Presented by
Frank Palumbo, M.D., FAAP
November 6, l997
Good afternoon Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the social impact of music violence. My name is Dr. Frank Palumbo and I am a practicing pediatrician here in Washington D.C. I am testifying on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an organization of 55,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
Pediatricians’ concern about the impact of music lyrics and music videos on children and youth compelled the AAP Committee on Communications to issue a policy statement on the subject in December l989, as well as one on media violence in 1995. Policy statements are the official position of the Academy concerning health care issues, and help guide pediatricians in their assessment and treatment of patients.
Pediatricians with a specialty in adolescent medicine are keenly aware of how crucial music is to a teen’s identity and how it helps them define important social and subcultural boundaries. One study found that teens listened to music an average of 40 hours per week.
During the past four decades, rock music lyrics have become increasingly explicit -- particularly with reference to drugs, sex , violence and even of greater concern, sexual violence. Heavy metal and rap lyrics have elicited the greatest concern, as they compound the environment in which some adolescents increasingly are confronted with pregnancy, drug use, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and other sexually transmitted diseases, injuries, homicide and suicide.
For example, Nine Inch Nails released “Big Man with a Gun,” with the following lyrics: I am a big man (yes I am) and I have a big gun; got me a big old dick and I like to have fun; held against your forehead, I’ll make you suck it, maybe I’ll put a hole in your head; you know, just for the f--k of it...I’m every inch a man, and I’ll show you somehow; me and my f--king gun; nothing can stop me now; shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot...
Marilyn Manson has quite the way with a lyric: “Who said date rape isn’t kind,”
“The housewife I will beat” and “I slit my teenage wrist” are just a sample from two songs.
To date, no studies have documented a cause-and-effect relationship between sexually explicit or violent lyrics and adverse behavioral effects, i.e., I’ll listen to a song about killing someone and therefore I go out and kill. But we can all acknowledge the overall effect music has on people, including adolescents and children. Otherwise, we wouldn’t listen to it. Music wakes us up in the morning, makes us want to dance, soothes us when we’re feeling sad and grates on some folks’ nerves in the elevator. From infancy to adulthood, it is an integral part of our lives. Mothers sing lullabies to babies, toddlers and children play “ring around the rosie,” and teenagers become absorbed in songs they believe help better define them during this rocky transition into adulthood.
Make no mistake about it, music can summon a range of emotions, most of which are wonderful. Yet there is some music that communicates potentially harmful health messages, especially when it reaches a vulnerable audience.
If parents in the 50s didn’t like Elvis’ gyrating hips, those same people would be astounded at how rapidly we’ve reached the “anything goes” mentality of the 90s. With the advent of MTV and VH-1, not only do we have to listen to violent lyrics that for example degrade women, but we also get to see it acted out in full color. A handful of experimental studies indicate that music videos may have a significant behavioral impact by desensitizing violence and by making teenagers more likely to approve of premarital sex. According to a U.S. Department of Education report, a large percentage of young women and girls have been “subjected to a pattern of overt sexual hostility accompanied by actual or threatened physical contact and the repeated use of obscene or foul language.”
An article in the May l997 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine documented televised music videos with multiple episodes of violence or weapon carrying. Rock’s Guns-N-Roses and Beastie Boys each reached 36 violent episodes in performing just one song.
A wide majority of adults surveyed in a l997 report from Public Agenda, “Kids These Days: What Americans Really Think about the Next Generation,” decried sex and violence in the media as threatening to the well-being of young people. The report, however, couches this as a problem without a solution. “Given the intense complaints about the media, it is somewhat surprising that only half of those surveyed (49%) think pressuring the entertainment industry to produce movies and music with less violence and sex will be a very effective way to help kids. Perhaps people doubt that the industry will be responsive to public pressure, or wonder just how much influence they as individuals can bring to bear,” it states.
We believe something can and should be done. Poll after poll laments the belief that our country, including its youth, is losing its moral center. Responsibility, respect and discipline are thought to be a thing of the past. Crime and violence have escalated to the point where it is a public health problem. Although there is no one solution, awareness of, and sensitivity to, the potential impact of music lyrics and videos by consumers, the media and the music industry is one important piece of the puzzle. It is in the children’s best interest to listen to lyrics or to watch videos that are not violent, sexist, drug-oriented, or antisocial.
The Academy strongly opposes censorship. As a society, however, we have to acknowledge the responsibility parents, the music industry and others have in helping to foster the nation’s children.
Although the evidence is incomplete, based on our knowledge of child and adolescent development, the AAP believes that parents should be aware of pediatricians’ concerns about the possible negative impact of music lyrics and videos. The Academy recommends that:
- Research should be developed concerning the impact music lyrics and videos have on the behavior of adolescents and preadolescents.
- The music video industry should be encouraged to produce videos and public service messages with positive themes about relationships, racial harmony, drug avoidance, nonviolence and conflict resolution, sexual abstinence, pregnancy prevention, and avoidance of sexually transmitted diseases.
- Music video producers should be encouraged to exercise sensitivity and self-restraint in what they depict, as should networks in what they choose to air.
- The music industry should develop and apply a system of specific content-labeling of music regarding violence, sex, drugs, or offensive lyrics.
For those concerned about the “forbidden fruit” syndrome, only one study has examined the impact of parental advisory labels, and it found that teens were not more likely to be attracted simply because of the labeling. We label the food we eat, and the movies we watch -- why not label the music? If labeling is not done voluntarily by the music industry, then regulation should be developed to make it mandatory.
- Performers should be encouraged to serve as positive role models for children and teenagers.
- Pediatricians should join with educators and parents in local and national coalitions to discuss the effects of music lyrics on children and adolescents. The possible negative impact of sexually explicit, drug-oriented, or violent lyrics on compact discs, tapes, music videos and the Internet should be brought to light in the context of any possible behavioral effects.
- Parents should take an active role in monitoring music that their children are exposed to and which they can purchase, as well as the videos they watch. Ultimately, it is the parent’s responsibility to monitor what their children listen to and view. Pediatricians should encourage parents to do so.
- Pediatricians should counsel parents to become educated about the media. This means watching television with their children and teenagers, discussing content with them, and initiating the process of selective viewing at an early age. In order to help this process, the Academy has launched Media Matters, a national media education campaign targeted to physicians, parents and youth. The primary goal of the Media Matters campaign is to help parents and children understand and impact upon the sometimes negative effects of images and messages in the media, including music lyrics and videos.
Media education includes developing critical thinking and viewing skills, and offering creative alternatives to media consumption. The Academy is particularly concerned about mass media images and messages, and the resulting impact on the health of vulnerable young people, in areas including violence, safety, sexuality, use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs, nutrition, and self-concept and identity.
For example, if a music video shows violence against women to any degree, a viewer, including young girls, could be led to believe such action is acceptable. If they are educated about the media, the premise in the video would be questioned and hopefully rejected.
Again, let me reiterate the point about a collective solution. Parents, pediatricians, the music industry and others have critical roles in discussing and addressing the increasing amount of violence in society, particularly when it comes to children and adolescents.
It is my sincere hope that this hearing will begin a dialogue with all interested parties.
Thank you for your time today, and I am willing to answer any questions you may have.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 55,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety, and well-being of infants, children adolescents and young adults.
