Citation

Kury E, Kury E, Quinn N, Olympia RP. Cureus 2020; 12(10): e11214.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Curēus)

DOI

10.7759/cureus.11214

PMID

33269144

Abstract

Music can affect the behavior and emotion of children and adolescents. We conducted a content and trend analysis of Billboard's top 10 songs, 1999-2018, with particular attention to adult and positive themes. There was a total of 3633 total references, 3298 (90.8%) adult themes, and 335 (9.2%) positive themes. The most common adult themes were "sexually suggestive lyrics" (32.2%), "sexually suggestive dancing" (15.6%), "use of swear words" (13.7%), "alcohol use" (4.7%), and "use of guns/deadly weapons" (4.7%). The most common positive theme was "empowerment" (62.3%). There were greater references per minute for adult themes (4.8 vs. 3.7 references per minute) and positive themes (0.6 vs. 0.3 references per minute) in the 2009-2018 study period as compared with the 1999-2008 study period. We encourage pediatric healthcare providers to be active participants in the promotion of media education, and we encourage parents to be mindful of the level of media exposure.

Language: en

Keywords

violence; substance use; lyrics; media education; music; sexual behavior