Song Lyrics Linked To Teeny-Boppin’

The study comes out of Pittsburgh University, where a team classified degrading sexual lyrics as those describing sex as strictly physical acts as opposed to loving moments between two people. Although the research team did not cite specific songs, it did mention a couple of artists – 50 Cent and the Ying Yang Twins – as purveyors of sexually degrading songs, according to The Independent.

Yes, we’ve been down this road before. Ever since federal investigators tried to decipher the indecipherable lyrics of “Louie Louie,” folks have accused pop songs of leading teens down the road to sin and perdition.

On the other hand, you gotta wonder if songs played repeatedly might influence listeners. You know, kind of like calling Pavlov’s hounds to dinner.

Quizzing 711 teens, researchers eventually split 13 -to 18-year-olds into three groups – those who listen to music on a regular basis, those who listen to music sometimes, and those who rarely, if ever, listen, according to BBC News.

And in case you’re wondering how “regular listening” was defined, researchers described it as listening to music for more than 17.6 hours a week, while those who rarely listen were described as teens catching an earful less than 2.7 hours per week.

And the results?

Researchers said 45 percent of regular listeners had experienced sex. Compare that against the 21 percent of infrequent listeners who claimed similar bedroom experience and you can see that there might be something to this report.

But researchers also say there’s too much going on to pin teen sexual mores solely on songs or, for that matter, any other kind of behavior.

“There certainly seems to be a link, but it is hard to say whether listening to music is directly contributing to having sex earlier,” lead researcher Dr. Brian Primack said.

A representative for Brook, a sexual health charity for young people, echoed Dr. Primack’s remarks.

“It is far too simplistic to say just because someone listens to this music they have sex,” the rep said. “There are a variety of factors that influence decisions.”

Of course, this could also be one of those instances where art imitates life. While researchers are hinting that listening to degrading lyrics could lead to earlier teen sex, one could argue that earlier teen sex could lead to performers recording degrading lyrics. After all, one writes to his / her audience. Right?

The complete study is scheduled to appear in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

The BBC News report can be read here.

The Independent article can be read here.