The Effects of Rap Music on Teen Society

The original mission of hip-hop was to empower lower-income communities through its positive lyrics about struggling to survive and encouraging unity among young African-Americans and Latinos. Nowadays, hip-hop has taken on a more negative message, and its influence on teens is not good.

Desensitizing

When teens watch countless hours of violent content on many hip-hop videos or hear them on CDs, it desensitizes them to the dangers of being overly aggressive. For example, if a teen hears a song that encourages them to disrespect cops, they will internalize it.

Degrading

Teenage boys should be raised to treat all women with respect, but when they see constant images of women dancing in a raunchy manner or as going along with the mistreatment from men in the video, they learn to adopt this belief.

Racial Stereotypes

We would like to think that America has healed from its harsh racial past, but that's not so. Rap music reinforces racial stereotypes by projecting black males as primarily criminals or unfaithful partners who lack character. This makes it harder for young black men who do the right thing to get noticed.

False Hopes

A major part of hip-hop is the bragging about the fancy houses, big money and nice cars they have because they're hip-hop artists, giving teens false hopes because not all of them will become rappers. As a result, they fail to develop other talents that can turn into a rewarding career.

Solutions

Parents should monitor what kind of entertainment their kids are involved in and discuss why certain types of entertainment are harmful to them. Parents should also know who their child's friends are and in what ways they are affecting their child.

References

• Iowa State University