As we clustered around a dining room table laden with steaming dishes and the fancy holiday flatware from Pier One Imports, my cousins and I had one goal in mind: avoid sitting next to crumpled-up Uncle Joe and his half-fabricated recollections of the good ol’ days. Unfortunately for us teens, he typically transformed these reminiscences into accusations aimed directly at our generation. He generally cited our “disregard for the quality of a good conversation” and a supposed inability to “maintain a respectable romantic relationship without all that sex and whatnot.” Normally, I would take my time next to Uncle Joe as an opportunity to focus on eating, occasionally mumbling a semi-interested “uh huh” or tipping my head in a pseudo-nod. For some reason, this Christmas was different. For some reason, I found myself agreeing with the man whose face rivaled the texture of a month-old raisin. Maybe Uncle Joe was right. In today’s America, teen drunk driving accidents are on the rise, not to mention pregnancy and STD contraction rates. Conversations are limited to the 160 characters of a text message or the abbreviated slang of instant messaging. When it comes down to it, today’s teens face a downward spiral of partying with no consequences – a path that can only end in an America characterized by a population of mindless drunks. America’s teens need help, and only one person can do the job: billboard-breaking pop musician Ke$ha. In fact, because of the positive messages reflected in her song “TiK ToK,” Ke$ha’s music video should be played daily in American middle schools. Surprised? You’re not alone. At first glance, “TiK ToK”’s lyrics seem to provide the worst model possible for anything remotely similar to a healthy lifestyle.... ... middle of paper ... ...that they need to view this music video in an educational setting where teachers can explain the subtleties of the lyrics. Just as the song’s title itself implies, the clock of decency is quickly approaching midnight, and teens’ lifestyles have yet to improve. With Ke$ha’s help, we can and must do something before it’s too late, late. Works Cited “Bio $tuff.” Ke$ha. Ke$ha’s Official Website, n.d. Web. 26 April 2010. Exton, Emily. “In today’s celebrity feuds: Ke$ha apologizes to Justin Bieber.” Entertainment Weekly. n.p., 22 March 2010. Web. 26 April 2010. Flynn, Huckleberry. “A Ke$ha ‘TiK ToK’ Lyrical Analysis.” blogspot.com. n.p., 11 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 April 2010. Gottwald, Lukasz, Benjamin Levin and Kesha Rose Sebert. “TiK ToK.” metrolyrics.com. Metro Lyrics, n.d. Web. 26 April 2010. Ke$ha – TiK ToK. 14 November 2009. YouTube. 26 April 2010.
A dominant rhetorical strategy presented by the author was his use of formal tone which made his article more official. The author explains his point of view in how banning words in music such as hip-hop and rap would be beneficial using strict arguments. Also, the author detached himself from the article and did not use the first or second point of view. In addition, in paragraph 9 the author wrote “it would” as an alternative of “It’d”, in paragraph 10 “that is” as a replacement for “that’s”, and in paragraph 11 “it is” rather than “it’s”, which concludes that he used full words and did not simplify or use contractions in most of his words. He also spelled out the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People when he wrote
Hip-hop can demolish citizen. For instance violence in some songs cause the youth to starts fights and also kill citizens. On the other hand, gangs and street thugs are a few examples. However teenagers kills, steals, vandalize, and etc. Therefore, hip hop has produce an negative impact in the world today. It has promoted an unhealthy lifestyle. This is due to attitudes and behaviors of American Youth. In addition, it teaches African American youth to use profanity. Furthermore, american youth does not have no role model when listening to hip-hop.
Twenge provides background and numbers on how teen actions are constantly changing, as the years advance. Twenge provides specific data from Monitoring the Future, a program funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The use of graphs in the article support Twenge’s logical approach by providing a visual representation of the number being presented. Twenge goes on to link the use of cellphones with sleep deprivation. She uses the example of sleep deprivation to describe the snowball effect of health issues. Sleep deprivation leads to depression which leads to bigger problems, the longer it goes
While this invitation produced anxiety for every person that attended this meal, the toll that it took on my nephew was rather difficult to watch. His father chose to attend the day before Thanksgiving; but a half-hour before the scheduled 2 p.m. time for dinner, he let his son know that his girlfriend and her children had decided to come as well. While the adults scrambled to add additional seating, my nephew excitedly stood outside on the porch anticipating his guests’ arrival. An hour later, this little boy dejectedly wondered whether his father had changed his mind. When his guests finally arrived, we all ate an awkward, cold dinner, and my ex-brother-in-law whisked them all (including my nephew) away to his family’s Thanksgiving meal, which meant that my disappointed nephew never got to share the chocolate pie that he had helped make.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
In the 90’s we associate rappers and politicians to be on completely different sides of the spectrum. No one could ever possibly see these two parties coming together. Until now, who would of thought President Barak Obama friends with American Gangster Shawn Carter or known by his stage name Jay-Z. Two complete different people with different occupations, backgrounds, acquaintances, and power actually hanging out and having laughs together. This was the beginning of “Change and Hope” (Murray Forman) Obama was looking for. But it took us a while though to make this transition.
“She ain’t nuttin but a hoochie mama…Smackin’ on your lips, put your hands on your hips…She ain’t nuttin but a hoochie mama…Oh I love those big brown eyes and the way you shake your thighs, acting like you’re so damn cute...” Rap music with lyrics like this play on the radio and in home stereos every day. Rap music pounds messages of sex and violence into the minds of young adults leaving behind their sexist and repetitive influential messages. Music has a very powerful influence on our emotions, moods, and behavior. Rap music influences teenagers negatively by increasing violent attitudes and promoting sexual aggression against women.
The article “Teens Drinking and Driving” (2012) recognizes that drinking and driving among adolescents in high school had declined by 54% since 1991. Although there has been a decline, high school teens continue to drink and drive 2.4 million times a month. Almost one million high school adolescents reported drinking and driving in 2011. The article “Teens Drinking and Driving” also states, “85% of teens in high school report drinking and driving in the past month also say they binge drank” (2012). Binge drinking is consuming five or more alcoholic beverages within a certain time frame, which can lead to drunk driving and other risky behavior. “Teens Drinking and Driving” (2012) also reports that one in five adolescents that drive under the influence are involved in deadly crashes with alcohol in their body. No matter what the circumstances are adolescents continue to drink and drive. There are solutions that can help decrease the ever occurring dangers of drunk
Imagine our youth all over the country being exposed to this explicit kind of language. There is no need to imagine, because it is already happening. Ever since the rise of Rap and Hip Hop music, teens have been turning to them to help solve their problems. However these kinds of music can be very destructive to teens. It is not the youth’s fault; it is the content that the music contains. Although Rap and Hip Hop music can be a force for good, they can also have an extremely negative impact on the attitudes and behaviors of our youth.
Many teens don’t realize that the music they are listening to affects the way they think. According to Morrison, a columnist whose writings focus on the impact of the choices people face every day, “Words do have meanings, meanings suggest thoughts, and thoughts lead to action” (Morrison). Even if the person isn’t affected right away by the violent lyrics of most today’s rap songs, eventually they will become more prone to certain thoughts. As Morrison stated, “In experiments on over 500 college students . . .
From the 2pacs of the world to the Ludacris’s, rap has rapidly transitioned into the music industry in the past twenty-five years to become a global art form for many around the globe. However, much like every other form of music, rap has listeners who don’t approve of it, therefore accusing the genre of causing violent-oriented influence on the youth. This is where Eminem would be introduced to the topic; Eminem is one of the world's best-selling music artists. He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines, Selling more than 80 million albums and over 120 million singles worldwide. Being as well renowned as he is, he works as a clear-cut example of many other artists who are accused of being an influence for violence for the youth. Music much like everything else could be altered towards the bad however, it depends on what you take from it; even the youth should have a certain sense of differentiation, which in this case is being able to take the positive from rap.
Teens and the human populous have been draw to music, and the relief it gives off. As recent as the 1990’s, we’ve seen an increase in explicit and violent lyrics and deviant behavior in the music industry surrounding such genres as heavy metal, rock, rap, and gangster rap. During this past decade, lyrics are becoming more violent and sexually explicit. It is approximated that teens listen to an average of 40 hours of music a week, and somewhere along the way, a child will hear something derogatory, or cruel. Along with this, teens don’t necessarily interpret what is said through lyrics in the right manner.
Hip-hop is supposed to uplift and create, to educate people on a larger level and to make a change.” These words spoken by Doug E. Fresh outline the purpose of hip-hop culture in its’ entirety. This cultural movement originated in New York City from the African American, and Latino American communities in the 1970’s. This culture consists of DJing, break dancing, graffiti-art, and beat boxing. It has been and still is somewhat of an outlet for the youth to express themselves in a positive manner. Most classic hip-hop has a positive undertone and message to be conveyed to an audience. It is strongly based off of self-expression and addressing negativity in a way that their voices can be heard. Although hip-hop culture is overall a constructive movement that gets the youth involved in productive, self-satisfying activities there are many misconceptions about it. It is a misunderstood culture that has much to offer our younger generations today and pave the way for more positive outlets. Hip hop is a positive cultural movement that the youth today should learn about and get involved in because of its efficacious results in keeping teens off the streets and away from negative influences.
In our generation what we see as a norm is very different to our grandparents generation. A good example of this is dating. In the past it was expected that when you went out for dinner typically the men would pay. In today’s world it's a little more
The Effects of Hip-Hop Music on Today’s Youth Does hip-hop music effect today’s youth in a positive or negative way? The effects of hip-hop music have been disputable following the time when its rise into the social standard in the late twentieth century, but hip-hop music is not just one sided but can be both positive and negative in today’s youth. What is hip-hop about? Assuming that you address hip-hop fans, the term alludes to more than simply a musical type - it incorporates an entire society, including dance structures, graffiti symbolization, and fashion (Selke INT).