There is no disputing that society is influenced by its choices of entertainment. Some ways in which people are influenced are positive, but others are harmful. In the society we live in, the harmful ways always outnumber the positive. If we gravitated toward the positive forms of entertainment a little more often than the negative, then our society would have fewer problems. Popular music has a negative effect on society and endorses a lack of creativity.

Most popular music today is driven by violence and sex. These musicians put out albums that glorify violence and promote causal sex. When the albums are being produced, the artist does not think of how it will affect the perspective merchant. When produced in a society different from the one in which it is being marketed, it often induces society to act out what is heard on the album. Too often this brings about added violence and increased drug use on our streets. Since our society leans toward what is popular, this causes more underage drinking coupled with the use of drugs. The use of drugs is outrageous in our society, with more and more young people experimenting as a means to be accepted by the “in” crowd. People hate the fact of the happening, not being with the popular crowd. Few teens try to develop independent minds because that would cause them to be creative and different.

That brings us to another point-- that most popular music is neither unique nor creative. Just about all of the music coming out now is generally the same. It lacks creativity because artists are just in it to make money, not for the love of music. Society is force-fed this bland music on a daily basis. Through radio stations and the emergence of MTV, new hit songs come out every week and people digest them, claiming to enjoy them just so that they appear to be versed on the latest “on hit wonder” groups. Since the music is generally the same and really does not change that dramatically every week, album after album is put out to fatten the wallets of wealthy producers. The more albums that are put out, the more money is made, as consumers shell out millions every week for something new to listen to, but are merely continuing to feed the frenzy of the popular music industry.

Another harm this entertainment brings to society is it gives the media an easy scapegoat. When some atrocity gains national attention, the first thing that is thought of is music and entertainment. When a young boy burnt down his house because he was watching Beavis and Butt-Head, and they were playing with fire, the show was blamed. How about we blame who are really at fault here -- the parents. I would not let my young kid watch a show that has a label warning that it may not be suitable for young children. The media always has to blame something because they are not permitted to get on the air and say he burnt down the house because he had bad parents. During the most recent incident, at a school in Colorado, the media again looked for a scapegoat. The first thing they blamed was the music the gunmen listened to, ignoring the fact that the parents of the killers were never home to discover that explosives were being made in the garage. The fact of the matter is that the media likes to point a finger at anything other than the parties at fault.

In conclusion, the harmful effects of entertainment seem to get all of the focus, but TV and music are not always the culprits. If we stop blaming everybody else besides the people who need to be blamed, then our society might be better, but until then we are stuck with same finger pointing as before. Parents must understand that the entertainment world is not the major influence in a kid’s life, and that the major influence is the parents themselves.

Word Count: 671