A brand new Computers in Human Behavior journal paper analyzes the longitudinal and cross-sectional impression of sexual and sexually objectifying music lyrics on text-based sexting behaviors amongst adolescents.
Examine: Associations between sexual music lyrics and sexting across adolescence. Picture Credit score: Tero Vesalainen / Shutterstock.com
The hypersexual nature of music
Unsafe and unrealistic sexual messages are generally displayed throughout numerous media sources, regardless of efforts by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to encourage these shops to painting practical well being penalties of sexual behaviors and secure sexual practices as an alternative.
Music, films, tv, video video games, and music movies have glorified intercourse as informal and inconsequential. Furthermore, these sexual messages usually objectify and painting girls as powerless objects used for sexual gratification.
Intercourse and sexual objectification are prevalent in fashionable music. For instance, earlier research have indicated that about 40% of high billboard songs include sexual lyrics, with some genres incorporating sexually objectifying themes in as much as 65% of their songs.
Analysis additionally means that commentary about sexuality from standard leisure can affect the conduct of adolescents. Sexual musical lyrics have been reported to be related to unintended pregnancies, dangerous sexual behaviors, and the next danger of buying a sexually transmitted an infection (STI) in adolescence.
One sort of sexual conduct that has but to be explored on this context is sexting. Sexting might be outlined as receiving or sending sexually specific written messages or totally or partially uncovered photos via texting, social networking websites, or e-mail. It’s unclear whether or not sexual and sexually objectifying music lyrics can predict sexting conduct amongst adolescents.
In regards to the research
The present research collected knowledge from adolescents between 15 and 18 from 2010 to 2012. About 53% of the individuals have been White, 17.1% Hispanic, 19.4% African American, 1.2% Asian, and 9.4% combined or different.
Furthermore, 46% of the adolescents’ households earned over $76,000 per yr, 22% earned between $26,000 and $75,000 per yr, and about 12% made lower than $25,000. Most adolescents have been from two-parent properties.
Household visits came about yearly, throughout which adolescents answered questions relating to their musical preferences and sexual behaviors. Though knowledge have been collected for 3 years, the research used knowledge for two-time factors, together with Time 1 and Time 3, which have been two years aside.
All individuals got a BlackBerry and have been suggested to make use of it as their main telephone. The content material of the textual content messages despatched utilizing the telephones was saved for analysis functions.
All research individuals have been requested to report their high three favourite musical artists throughout the three completely different time factors. Then, the highest three songs of every artist have been recognized, and information have been created containing the lyrics of those songs.
A complete of 636 information have been created and subsequently analyzed by a quantitative textual content evaluation software program referred to as Linguistic Inquiry and Phrase Depend (LIWC). As much as 10% of the songs have been analyzed to determine sexual phrases within the lyrics.
Every artist was assigned a rating for the completely different time factors based mostly on the share of their lyrics that was sexual. All individuals have been additionally assigned a sexual lyrics rating based mostly on the share scores of the highest three artists they beforehand talked about as their favourite. The same process was used for sexually objectifying lyrics.
4-day pattern messages have been chosen to code for sexually specific messages throughout every grade and have been repeated for the three time durations. A grade of “0” was used to point individuals who had not acquired or despatched a sext message, whereas “1” indicated individuals who had despatched or acquired ‘sexts’ throughout the time factors.
Gender, race, and parental revenue for the individuals at Time 1 have been used as management.
Examine findings
The adolescents included within the present research listened to medium or low ranges of sexual and sexually objectifying lyrics. As well as, about 43% of individuals acquired or despatched a textual content message at Time 1, whereas 40.65% have been noticed at Time 3.
A low affiliation was reported between lyric desire and sexting at Time 3 for each girls and boys. Nonetheless, at Time 1, listening to sexual and sexually objectifying lyrics was related to decrease family revenue. Furthermore, boys have been likelier to take heed to sexual and sexually objectifying lyrics at Time 1 than women.
Sexual and sexually objectifying lyrics and demographic components weren’t related to sexting at Time 1. As an alternative, sexting behaviors at Time 1 have been related to sexting behaviors at Time 3.
Moreover, an affiliation between listening to sexual lyrics at Time 1 and sexting at Time 3 was noticed for boys however not women. Nonetheless, the interplay between sexually objectifying lyrics and gender was insignificant at Time 3.
Conclusions
Listening to sexual music lyrics may end up in future sexting behaviors in adolescent males; subsequently, boys are seemingly extra prone to lyrical messages regarding sexuality because of gendered sexual expectations.
These findings emphasize the significance of fogeys discussing sexting with their youngsters and their media preferences, message, and societal expectations of sexuality. This can assist stop the event of sexting behaviors and lead to a more healthy setting for identification improvement in adolescence.
Limitations
The present research used solely a non-pictorial measure of sexting. A further limitation was that the impression of lyrics on the frequency of sexual conduct was not utterly understood, as sexting is dichotomous.
Two years can also be a short while interval to research sexual behaviors. Moreover, coding the most well-liked three songs from the highest three artists may not be ample to characterize the songs that adolescents take heed to day by day.
A closing limitation of the present research was that LIWC may not be able to figuring out sexual and sexually objectifying lyrics in particular contexts.
Journal reference:
- Kroff, S. L., Coyne, S. M., Shawcroft, J., et al. (2022). Associations between sexual music lyrics and sexting throughout adolescence. Computer systems in Human Conduct. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107562.
