Media, Music, and Adolescents

Music is an ever present phenomenon in the lives of adolescents. Although music may be a generic term for expressive sounds ranging from the chants of Tibetian Monks to grandiose performances of Wagnerian opera, for most adolescents the term has a much narrower meaning. This chapter focuses on the involvement of adolescents with popular music that is accessed through public media such as radio and television and the personal media of records, tapes, and compact discs. The existing research validates the assumption that adolescents have a high degree of music media involvement. Unfortunately most of these studies have been based on the assumptions that “adolescents” represent a homogenous population and that “popular music” is a singular genre. Parents, teachers, social workers, and others, who have assumed responsibility for assisting adolescents through their stage of development, look on music as both a problem and a cure.