Cover Story by Callie Fahsholz

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Send mail to The Voice The effects of violent music on teen-agers Research from the University of Florida shows that the more negative the music, the more young people listen and believe that message. Ninety percent of youths arrested for bias-related or occultic crimes are involved with heavy-metal music, particularly the black metal bands. The teen population shrank from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s while the number of teen arrests for murder jumped nearly 160 percent. Aggravated assault increased nearly 100 percent. Simple assault increased more than 140 percent and robbery increased nearly 60 percent. The teen-agers most likely to be-come obsessed with the darker music are usually (but not always) socially isolated, have experimented with drugs, and are living with deep-seated rage. Violent music seems to offer help, but it increases teen violence and isolation from normal society. Although many metal rock and rap fans often say they listen to the music for its sound and not the lyrics, a study revealed that 90 percent of them admit to knowing the words, and 60 percent agree with the message of the words. One study found that teens listen to music an average of 40 hours per week. Adapted from Good News Ministries Website at: http://wordbytes.org/family/heavymusic.htm Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2003 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.